diff --git a/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java b/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java
index 76a3017a9b49..40bb11faba81 100644
--- a/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java
+++ b/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ public class DeleteAction extends PatchAction {
   @Override
   protected void doApply(ZipFile patchFile, File backupDir, File toFile) throws IOException {
     //NOTE: a folder can be deleted only in case if it does not contain any user's files/folders.
-    if (!toFile.isDirectory() || (toFile.listFiles() != null && toFile.listFiles().length == 0)) {
+    File[] listFiles = toFile.listFiles();
+    if (!toFile.isDirectory() || (listFiles != null && listFiles.length == 0)) {
       Utils.delete(toFile);
     }
   }