diff --git a/src/openvpnserv/validate.c b/src/openvpnserv/validate.c
index 2187fb5..ddaa381 100644
--- a/src/openvpnserv/validate.c
+++ b/src/openvpnserv/validate.c
@@ -68,6 +68,11 @@
     const WCHAR *config_file = NULL;
     WCHAR config_dir[MAX_PATH];
 
+    /* fname = stdin is special: do not treat it as a relative path */
+    if (wcscmp(fname, L"stdin") == 0)
+    {
+        return FALSE;
+    }
     /* convert fname to full path */
     if (PathIsRelativeW(fname))
     {