diff --git a/core/jni/com_android_internal_os_Zygote.cpp b/core/jni/com_android_internal_os_Zygote.cpp
index 69d9387fdc096..913d6806c3639 100644
--- a/core/jni/com_android_internal_os_Zygote.cpp
+++ b/core/jni/com_android_internal_os_Zygote.cpp
@@ -418,6 +418,10 @@ static pid_t ForkAndSpecializeCommon(JNIEnv* env, uid_t uid, gid_t gid, jintArra
   pid_t pid = fork();
 
   if (pid == 0) {
+    if (!is_system_server && dataDir == NULL) {
+        ALOGE("Application private dir cannot be null");
+        RuntimeAbort(env);
+    }
     // The child process.
     gMallocLeakZygoteChild = 1;