diff --git a/src/backend/libpq/auth.c b/src/backend/libpq/auth.c
index be8c477685..9c77701785 100644
--- a/src/backend/libpq/auth.c
+++ b/src/backend/libpq/auth.c
@@ -1752,10 +1752,12 @@ auth_peer(hbaPort *port)
 	pw = getpwuid(uid);
 	if (!pw)
 	{
+		int			save_errno = errno;
+
 		ereport(LOG,
 				(errmsg("could not look up local user ID %ld: %s",
 						(long) uid,
-						errno ? strerror(errno) : _("user does not exist"))));
+						save_errno ? strerror(save_errno) : _("user does not exist"))));
 		return STATUS_ERROR;
 	}