diff --git a/data/helpers.d/utils b/data/helpers.d/utils
index a2d7855b9..1e1930010 100644
--- a/data/helpers.d/utils
+++ b/data/helpers.d/utils
@@ -737,7 +737,7 @@ _acceptable_path_to_delete() {
 
     # Use realpath to normalize the path ..
     # i.e convert ///foo//bar//..///baz//// to /foo/baz
-    file=$(realpath --no-symlinks $file)
+    file=$(realpath --no-symlinks "$file")
     if [ -z "$file" ] || grep -q -x -F "$file" <<< "$forbidden_paths"; then
         return 1
     else