diff --git a/plugins/apps/post-delete b/plugins/apps/post-delete
index 91fe06e2094..3a552c508f9 100755
--- a/plugins/apps/post-delete
+++ b/plugins/apps/post-delete
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
 source "$PLUGIN_CORE_AVAILABLE_PATH/common/functions"
 
 APP="$1"; IMAGE_REPO=$(get_app_image_repo $APP)
-[[ -n $APP ]] && rm -rf "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP" > /dev/null
+[[ -n $APP ]] && rm -rf "${DOKKU_ROOT:?}/$APP" > /dev/null
 
 # remove all application containers & images
 # shellcheck disable=SC2046