diff --git a/sesman/sesman.c b/sesman/sesman.c
index c02b5895..9354e110 100644
--- a/sesman/sesman.c
+++ b/sesman/sesman.c
@@ -263,6 +263,13 @@ main(int argc, char** argv)
   /* start program main loop */
   log_message(LOG_LEVEL_ALWAYS, "starting sesman with pid %d", g_pid);
 
+  /* make sure the /tmp/.X11-unix directory exist */
+  if (!g_directory_exist("/tmp/.X11-unix"))
+  {
+    g_create_dir("/tmp/.X11-unix");
+    g_chmod("/tmp/.X11-unix", 0x1777);
+  }
+
   sesman_main_loop();
 
   if (!daemon)