1 files changed, 3 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/Lib/tarfile.py b/Lib/tarfile.py
index 261d9fbc36..474e306e4c 100644
--- a/Lib/tarfile.py
+++ b/Lib/tarfile.py
@@ -1044,7 +1044,9 @@ class TarFile(object):
            can be determined, `mode' is overridden by `fileobj's mode.
            `fileobj' is not closed, when TarFile is closed.
         """
-        self.name = os.path.abspath(name)
+        self.name = name
+        if self.name is not None:
+            self.name = os.path.abspath(name)
 
         if len(mode) > 1 or mode not in "raw":
             raise ValueError("mode must be 'r', 'a' or 'w'")