diff --git a/ipmid-new.cpp b/ipmid-new.cpp
index a6a5caa..5741842 100644
--- a/ipmid-new.cpp
+++ b/ipmid-new.cpp
@@ -415,7 +415,13 @@
     std::vector<fs::path> libs;
     for (const auto& libPath : fs::directory_iterator(ipmiLibsPath))
     {
+        std::error_code ec;
         fs::path fname = libPath.path();
+        if (fs::is_symlink(fname, ec) || ec)
+        {
+            // it's a symlink or some other error; skip it
+            continue;
+        }
         while (fname.has_extension())
         {
             fs::path extn = fname.extension();