diff --git a/src/bin/e_utils.c b/src/bin/e_utils.c
index 7c15d11bb..a19b222c3 100644
--- a/src/bin/e_utils.c
+++ b/src/bin/e_utils.c
@@ -206,7 +206,10 @@ EAPI int
 e_util_strcmp(const char *s1, const char *s2)
 {
    if ((s1) && (s2))
-     return strcmp(s1, s2);
+     {
+        if (s1 == s2) return 0;
+        return strcmp(s1, s2);
+     }
    return 0x7fffffff;
 }