diff --git a/adb/file_sync_client.cpp b/adb/file_sync_client.cpp
index a2d2a66bf..ad3836989 100644
--- a/adb/file_sync_client.cpp
+++ b/adb/file_sync_client.cpp
@@ -403,9 +403,9 @@ static bool sync_recv(SyncConnection& sc, const char* rpath, const char* lpath)
     if (!sc.SendRequest(ID_RECV, rpath)) return false;
 
     adb_unlink(lpath);
-    if (!mkdirs(adb_dirname(lpath))) {
-        sc.Error("failed to create parent directory '%s': %s",
-                 adb_dirname(lpath).c_str(), strerror(errno));
+    const std::string dirpath = adb_dirname(lpath);
+    if (!mkdirs(dirpath.c_str())) {
+        sc.Error("failed to create parent directory '%s': %s", dirpath.c_str(), strerror(errno));
         return false;
     }