diff --git a/src/validate.cpp b/src/validate.cpp
index 24476faa..f45c3f4b 100644
--- a/src/validate.cpp
+++ b/src/validate.cpp
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@ static bool autoAdjust (
 
     for (auto& interval : flatten (latest, getAllExclusions (rules, latest)))
     {
+      if (interval.is_empty ())
+      {
+        continue;
+      }
+
       database.addInterval (interval, verbose);
 
       if (verbose)