diff --git a/net/zerotier/files/etc/init.d/zerotier b/net/zerotier/files/etc/init.d/zerotier
index dacb47c09..c308b4246 100755
--- a/net/zerotier/files/etc/init.d/zerotier
+++ b/net/zerotier/files/etc/init.d/zerotier
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ start_instance() {
 			return
 		fi
 
+		# ensure that the symlink target exists
+		mkdir -p $(dirname $path)
+
 		ln -s $config_path $path
 	fi