diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index 979b13f0c6..1055b82708 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -140,7 +140,9 @@ int check_filename(const char *prefix, const char *arg)
 		if (arg[2] == '\0') /* ":/" is root dir, always exists */
 			return 1;
 		name = arg + 2;
-	} else if (prefix)
+	} else if (!no_wildcard(arg))
+		return 1;
+	else if (prefix)
 		name = prefix_filename(prefix, strlen(prefix), arg);
 	else
 		name = arg;