diff --git a/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-utils.c b/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-utils.c
index 522d5b71fa..521b37ed59 100644
--- a/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-utils.c
+++ b/libnm-core/nm-keyfile-utils.c
@@ -128,7 +128,6 @@ nm_keyfile_plugin_kf_get_##stype##_list (GKeyFile *kf, \
 			list = g_key_file_get_##stype##_list (kf, alias, key, &l, &local); \
 		} \
 	} \
-	nm_assert ((!local) != (!list)); \
 	if (local) \
 		g_propagate_error (error, local); \
 	if (!list) \