diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 027a8c5975..a23d0a1c5f 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 2004-09-22  Ulrich Drepper  <drepper@redhat.com>
 
+	* malloc/malloc.c (malloc_printerr): Use syslog if writev failed.
+
 	* string/string.h: Add __nonnull annotations.
 	* stdlib/stdlib.h: Likewise.
 
diff --git a/malloc/malloc.c b/malloc/malloc.c
index 665d7a4b3e..dcc54c46f1 100644
--- a/malloc/malloc.c
+++ b/malloc/malloc.c
@@ -285,6 +285,8 @@ extern "C" {
 
 /* For writev and struct iovec.  */
 #include <sys/uio.h>
+  /* For syslog.  */
+#include <sys/syslog.h>
 
 /*
   Debugging:
@@ -5467,7 +5469,12 @@ malloc_printerr(int action, const char *str, void *ptr)
       iov[n].iov_base = cp;
       iov[n].iov_len = &buf[sizeof (buf) - 1] - cp;
       ++n;
-      TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY (__writev (STDERR_FILENO, iov, n));
+      if (TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY (__writev (STDERR_FILENO, iov, n)) == -1
+	  && errno == EBADF)
+	/* Standard error is not opened.  Try using syslog.  */
+	syslog (LOG_ERR, "%s%s%s", (char *) iov[0].iov_base,
+		(char *) iov[1].iov_base,
+		n == 3 ? (const char *) iov[2].iov_base : "");
     }
   if (action & 2)
     abort ();