diff --git a/entry.c b/entry.c
index dc0b7a7460..c631a8f8dc 100644
--- a/entry.c
+++ b/entry.c
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ static int write_entry(struct cache_entry *ce,
 		if (!has_symlinks || to_tempfile)
 			goto write_file_entry;
 
-		ret = create_symlink(state ? state->istate : NULL, new_blob, path);
+		ret = create_symlink(state->istate, new_blob, path);
 		free(new_blob);
 		if (ret)
 			return error_errno("unable to create symlink %s", path);