diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index 32142dba64..3e406f1e83 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -2647,6 +2647,14 @@ static int diff_populate_gitlink(struct diff_filespec *s, int size_only)
 int diff_populate_filespec(struct diff_filespec *s, int size_only)
 {
 	int err = 0;
+	/*
+	 * demote FAIL to WARN to allow inspecting the situation
+	 * instead of refusing.
+	 */
+	enum safe_crlf crlf_warn = (safe_crlf == SAFE_CRLF_FAIL
+				    ? SAFE_CRLF_WARN
+				    : safe_crlf);
+
 	if (!DIFF_FILE_VALID(s))
 		die("internal error: asking to populate invalid file.");
 	if (S_ISDIR(s->mode))
@@ -2702,7 +2710,7 @@ int diff_populate_filespec(struct diff_filespec *s, int size_only)
 		/*
 		 * Convert from working tree format to canonical git format
 		 */
-		if (convert_to_git(s->path, s->data, s->size, &buf, safe_crlf)) {
+		if (convert_to_git(s->path, s->data, s->size, &buf, crlf_warn)) {
 			size_t size = 0;
 			munmap(s->data, s->size);
 			s->should_munmap = 0;
diff --git a/t/t0020-crlf.sh b/t/t0020-crlf.sh
index 1a8f44c44c..e526184a0b 100755
--- a/t/t0020-crlf.sh
+++ b/t/t0020-crlf.sh
@@ -81,6 +81,14 @@ test_expect_success 'safecrlf: print warning only once' '
 	test $(git add doublewarn 2>&1 | grep "CRLF will be replaced by LF" | wc -l) = 1
 '
 
+
+test_expect_success 'safecrlf: git diff demotes safecrlf=true to warn' '
+	git config core.autocrlf input &&
+	git config core.safecrlf true &&
+	git diff HEAD
+'
+
+
 test_expect_success 'switch off autocrlf, safecrlf, reset HEAD' '
 	git config core.autocrlf false &&
 	git config core.safecrlf false &&