diff --git a/merge-recursive.c b/merge-recursive.c
index 9041c2f149..5dc7587cd3 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/merge-recursive.c
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ static int add_cacheinfo(struct merge_options *o,
 		struct cache_entry *nce;
 
 		nce = refresh_cache_entry(ce, CE_MATCH_REFRESH | CE_MATCH_IGNORE_MISSING);
-		if (nce != ce)
+		if (nce && nce != ce)
 			ret = add_cache_entry(nce, options);
 	}
 	return ret;
diff --git a/t/t3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh b/t/t3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh
index d7b4251234..4f2a263b63 100755
--- a/t/t3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh
+++ b/t/t3501-revert-cherry-pick.sh
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ test_expect_success 'cherry-pick "-" works with arguments' '
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'cherry-pick works with dirty renamed file' '
+test_expect_success 'cherry-pick works with dirty renamed file' '
 	test_commit to-rename &&
 	git checkout -b unrelated &&
 	test_commit unrelated &&