diff --git a/kernel/src/sys/exec.cpp b/kernel/src/sys/exec.cpp
index 53c615ce..bf50a4bf 100644
--- a/kernel/src/sys/exec.cpp
+++ b/kernel/src/sys/exec.cpp
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ Result<u64> sys_exec(Registers* regs, SyscallArgs args)
     for (int i = 0; i < FD_MAX; i++)
     {
         auto& descriptor = current->fd_table[i];
+        if (!descriptor.has_value()) continue;
         if (descriptor->flags & O_CLOEXEC) descriptor = {};
     }