diff --git a/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectnodes.cpp b/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectnodes.cpp
index 633847e25dd..7d275d2eac3 100644
--- a/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectnodes.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/projectexplorer/projectnodes.cpp
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ static FolderNode *recursiveFindOrCreateFolderNode(FolderNode *folder,
             directoryWithoutPrefix = directory.relativeChildPath(path);
         } else {
             isRelative = false;
+            path.clear();
             directoryWithoutPrefix = directory;
         }
     }