diff --git a/src/config.c b/src/config.c
index ae60dd3fd0..4494da4e2e 100644
--- a/src/config.c
+++ b/src/config.c
@@ -2709,6 +2709,10 @@ static int setConfigDirOption(standardConfig *config, sds *argv, int argc, const
         *err = "dir can't be empty";
         return 0;
     }
+    if (hasActiveChildProcess()) {
+        *err = "it is unsafe to modify dir when a child process is running";
+        return 0;
+    }
     if (chdir(argv[0]) == -1) {
         *err = strerror(errno);
         return 0;