diff --git a/gdb/ChangeLog b/gdb/ChangeLog
index 2f470b8ddbe..48e36c9c0c0 100644
--- a/gdb/ChangeLog
+++ b/gdb/ChangeLog
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 2003-09-12  Jim Blandy  <jimb@redhat.com>
 
+	* dbxread.c (read_dbx_symtab): Don't report an internal error if
+	the file has no .data, .bss, or .rodata sections.  Instead wait
+	until we see a variable alleged to live in one of those sections.
+
 	* dbxread.c (read_dbx_symtab): If we have no .data section and no
 	.bss section, presume that any variables we find live in the
 	.rodata section.
diff --git a/gdb/dbxread.c b/gdb/dbxread.c
index 8bfaf1c8e91..d58fc5b2ebe 100644
--- a/gdb/dbxread.c
+++ b/gdb/dbxread.c
@@ -1382,7 +1382,12 @@ read_dbx_symtab (struct objfile *objfile)
     data_sect_index = SECT_OFF_BSS (objfile);
   if (data_sect_index == -1)
     data_sect_index = SECT_OFF_RODATA (objfile);
-  gdb_assert (data_sect_index != -1);
+
+  /* If data_sect_index is still -1, that's okay.  It's perfectly fine
+     for the file to have no .data, no .bss, and no .text at all, if
+     it also has no global or static variables.  If it does, we will
+     get an internal error from an ANOFFSET macro below when we try to
+     use data_sect_index.  */
 
   for (symnum = 0; symnum < DBX_SYMCOUNT (objfile); symnum++)
     {