diff --git a/tests/gpgscm/ffi.c b/tests/gpgscm/ffi.c
index cac052138..36b0b98d2 100644
--- a/tests/gpgscm/ffi.c
+++ b/tests/gpgscm/ffi.c
@@ -1025,19 +1025,13 @@ do_process_spawn_io (scheme *sc, pointer args)
     fd_set read_fdset;
     ssize_t bytes_read;
 
-    if (out_fd < 0)
-      goto errout;
-
-    if (err_fd < 0)
-      goto errout;
-
-    FD_ZERO (&read_fdset);
-
     while (1)
       {
         int nfd;
         int ret;
 
+        FD_ZERO (&read_fdset);
+
         if (out_fd >= 0)
           FD_SET (out_fd, &read_fdset);