diff --git a/asset.php b/asset.php
index 76bd2c1e..e47d6dcd 100644
--- a/asset.php
+++ b/asset.php
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@ if (!array_key_exists($repoId, $allRepositories)) {
 $repoData = $allRepositories[$repoId];
 $repo = getRepo($repoId, $repoData);
 
-if (!array_key_exists('dir', $_REQUEST)) {
-  $_REQUEST['dir'] = '.';
-}
-
 if (array_key_exists('list', $_REQUEST)) {
   $contents = array();
   foreach ($repo->scandir($_REQUEST['dir']) as $f) {
@@ -32,7 +28,7 @@ if (array_key_exists('list', $_REQUEST)) {
 }
 else {
   $tmpfile = tempnam('/tmp', 'osb-asset-');
-  $contents = $repo->file_get_contents("{$_REQUEST['dir']}/{$_REQUEST['file']}");
+  $contents = $repo->file_get_contents((array_key_exists('dir', $_REQUEST) ? "{$_REQUEST['dir']}/" : '') . $_REQUEST['file']);
 
   if ($contents === false) {
     Header("HTTP/1.1 401 Permission denied");