diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4918c797..e868e0b8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Remove a redundant "Building image" log message after image exec. #1694
 - Don't populate NetDevs[].Type or NetDevs[].Netmask during upgrade. #1661
 - Prefer parent profile values over child profile values. #1672
+- Don't attempt to back-up an output file that doesn't exist during upgrade. #1671
 
 ## v4.6.0rc1, 2025-01-29
 
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/config/cobra.go b/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/config/cobra.go
index 9755424f..f4d62409 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/config/cobra.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/config/cobra.go
@@ -54,8 +54,10 @@ func UpgradeNodesConf(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		fmt.Print(string(upgradedYaml))
 		return nil
 	} else {
-		if err := util.CopyFile(outputPath, outputPath+"-old"); err != nil {
-			return err
+		if util.IsFile(outputPath) {
+			if err := util.CopyFile(outputPath, outputPath+"-old"); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 		}
 		return upgraded.PersistToFile(outputPath)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/nodes/cobra.go b/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/nodes/cobra.go
index ebfe2fd4..1c243dbc 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/nodes/cobra.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/upgrade/nodes/cobra.go
@@ -81,8 +81,10 @@ func UpgradeNodesConf(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		fmt.Print(string(upgradedYaml))
 		return nil
 	} else {
-		if err := util.CopyFile(outputPath, outputPath+"-old"); err != nil {
-			return err
+		if util.IsFile(outputPath) {
+			if err := util.CopyFile(outputPath, outputPath+"-old"); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 		}
 		return upgraded.PersistToFile(outputPath)
 	}