diff --git a/environment.c b/environment.c
index 6ee11e9fc8..8f0c1c4f25 100644
--- a/environment.c
+++ b/environment.c
@@ -130,14 +130,14 @@ int is_bare_repository(struct repository *repo)
 
 int repo_protect_ntfs(struct repository *repo)
 {
-	return repo->gitdir ?
+	return (repo && repo->initialized) ?
 		repo_config_values(repo)->protect_ntfs :
 		PROTECT_NTFS_DEFAULT;
 }
 
 int repo_protect_hfs(struct repository *repo)
 {
-	return repo->gitdir ?
+	return (repo && repo->initialized) ?
 		repo_config_values(repo)->protect_hfs :
 		PROTECT_HFS_DEFAULT;
 }
diff --git a/environment.h b/environment.h
index d188955f5b..8aaedcfea3 100644
--- a/environment.h
+++ b/environment.h
@@ -137,8 +137,8 @@ int git_default_core_config(const char *var, const char *value,
 
 /*
  * Getters for the `protect_hfs` and `protect_ntfs` fields of `struct repo_config_values`.
- * They check `repo->gitdir` to prevent calling repo_config_values()
- * before the configuration is loaded or in bare environments.
+ * They check `repo->initialized` to prevent calling `repo_config_values()`
+ * before the repository setup is fully complete or in non-git environments.
  */
 int repo_protect_hfs(struct repository *repo);
 int repo_protect_ntfs(struct repository *repo);