diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/database.py b/lib/spack/spack/database.py
index e04a1f292aa..f3c88a75c3b 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/database.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/database.py
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ def __init__(self, root, db_dir=None, upstream_dbs=None,
         if not os.path.exists(self._db_dir):
             mkdirp(self._db_dir)
 
-        if not os.path.exists(self._failure_dir):
+        if not os.path.exists(self._failure_dir) and not is_upstream:
             mkdirp(self._failure_dir)
 
         self.is_upstream = is_upstream