diff --git a/usr.sbin/pw/pwupd.c b/usr.sbin/pw/pwupd.c
index 0f2df7a77bef..22662dbd0b34 100644
--- a/usr.sbin/pw/pwupd.c
+++ b/usr.sbin/pw/pwupd.c
@@ -146,7 +146,11 @@ pw_update(struct passwd * pwd, char const * user)
 			pw_fini();
 			err(1, "pw_copy()");
 		}
-		if (pw_mkdb(user) == -1) {
+		/*
+		 * in case of deletion of a user, the whole database
+		 * needs to be regenerated
+		 */
+		if (pw_mkdb(pw != NULL ? user : NULL) == -1) {
 			pw_fini();
 			err(1, "pw_mkdb()");
 		}