diff --git a/lib/assert.js b/lib/assert.js
index e5b4edb76ec655..3c94d2ae0c88b0 100644
--- a/lib/assert.js
+++ b/lib/assert.js
@@ -290,7 +290,8 @@ assert.notStrictEqual = function notStrictEqual(actual, expected, message) {
 };
 
 function expectedException(actual, expected) {
-  if (!actual || !expected) {
+  // actual is guaranteed to be an Error object, but we need to check expected.
+  if (!expected) {
     return false;
   }