diff --git a/ls-refs.c b/ls-refs.c
index 367597d447..eaaa36d0df 100644
--- a/ls-refs.c
+++ b/ls-refs.c
@@ -110,7 +110,10 @@ int ls_refs(struct repository *r, struct strvec *keys,
 		die(_("expected flush after ls-refs arguments"));
 
 	head_ref_namespaced(send_ref, &data);
-	for_each_namespaced_ref(send_ref, &data);
+	if (!data.prefixes.nr)
+		strvec_push(&data.prefixes, "");
+	for_each_fullref_in_prefixes(get_git_namespace(), data.prefixes.v,
+				     send_ref, &data, 0);
 	packet_flush(1);
 	strvec_clear(&data.prefixes);
 	return 0;