diff --git a/swift/extractor/infra/file/TargetFile.cpp b/swift/extractor/infra/file/TargetFile.cpp
index 4ce4c8ae23be..84e6d44ec376 100644
--- a/swift/extractor/infra/file/TargetFile.cpp
+++ b/swift/extractor/infra/file/TargetFile.cpp
@@ -50,9 +50,10 @@ bool TargetFile::init() {
     checkOutput("open");
     return true;
   }
-  CODEQL_ASSERT(errno == EEXIST, "Unable to open {} for writing ({})", targetPath,
+  CODEQL_EXPECT(errno == EEXIST, "Unable to open {} for writing ({})", targetPath,
                 currentErrorCode());
-  // else the file already exists and we just lost the race
+  // else the file already exists and we just lost the race, or some error occurred
+  // and the file could not be created
   return false;
 }