diff --git a/src/fileops.c b/src/fileops.c
index ad74a83fc7a..0245d9c3750 100644
--- a/src/fileops.c
+++ b/src/fileops.c
@@ -664,6 +664,9 @@ static int cp_by_fd(int ifd, int ofd, bool close_fd_when_done)
 		error = (int)len;
 	}
 
+	if (error < 0)
+		giterr_set(GITERR_OS, "write error while copying file");
+
 	if (close_fd_when_done) {
 		p_close(ifd);
 		p_close(ofd);