diff --git a/wayblue-fix-89.sh b/wayblue-fix-89.sh
index 1152a76..b798feb 100755
--- a/wayblue-fix-89.sh
+++ b/wayblue-fix-89.sh
@@ -27,12 +27,18 @@
 set -e
 set -o pipefail
 
-# For each file we're interested in
+# Iterate over each file we're interested in
 for file in /etc/shadow /etc/gshadow; do
+	# Prelim check for zero-byte files (shouldn't proc)
+	if ! [ -s "$file" ]; then
+		echo "File is missing or empty: $file"
+		continue
+	fi
 	# Prelim check to ensure we can read the file
 	if ! [ -r "$file" ]; then
 		echo "Unable to read file: $file"
 		continue
 	fi
+	# Prelim checks succeeded, move forward
 	echo "Parsing $file for junk"
 done