diff --git a/pkg/specgen/generate/oci_linux.go b/pkg/specgen/generate/oci_linux.go
index 2a1afbecc4..ddba5f7175 100644
--- a/pkg/specgen/generate/oci_linux.go
+++ b/pkg/specgen/generate/oci_linux.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func getCgroupPermissions(unmask []string) string {
 		return ro
 	}
 
-	if unmask != nil && unmask[0] == "ALL" {
+	if len(unmask) != 0 && unmask[0] == "ALL" {
 		return rw
 	}