diff --git a/targets.cc b/targets.cc
index 21426e9d2..2488bbd5b 100644
--- a/targets.cc
+++ b/targets.cc
@@ -382,12 +382,11 @@ static bool target_needs_new_hostgroup(const HostGroupState *hs, const Target *t
     return false;
 
   /* There are no restrictions on non-root scans. */
-  if (!(o.af() == AF_INET && o.isr00t))
+  if (!(o.af() == AF_INET && o.isr00t && target->deviceName() != NULL))
     return false;
 
   /* Different interface name? */
   if (hs->hostbatch[0]->deviceName() != NULL &&
-      target->deviceName() != NULL &&
       strcmp(hs->hostbatch[0]->deviceName(), target->deviceName()) != 0) {
     return true;
   }