diff --git a/include/webassets.hpp b/include/webassets.hpp
index 3703c30..a4ec58b 100644
--- a/include/webassets.hpp
+++ b/include/webassets.hpp
@@ -52,7 +52,17 @@
              {".map", "application/json"}}};
 
     std::filesystem::path rootpath{"/usr/share/www/"};
-    std::filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator dirIter(rootpath);
+
+    std::error_code ec;
+
+    std::filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator dirIter(rootpath, ec);
+    if (ec)
+    {
+        BMCWEB_LOG_ERROR << "Unable to find or open " << rootpath
+                         << " static file hosting disabled";
+        return;
+    }
+
     // In certain cases, we might have both a gzipped version of the file AND a
     // non-gzipped version.  To avoid duplicated routes, we need to make sure we
     // get the gzipped version first.  Because the gzipped path should be longer