diff --git a/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt b/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt
index b8b86ebc61..8df606d452 100644
--- a/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt
+++ b/Documentation/RelNotes/1.7.7.6.txt
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ Fixes since v1.7.7.5
    directory when two paths in question are in adjacent directories and
    the name of the one directory is a prefix of the other.
 
+ * A wildcard that matches deeper hierarchy given to the "diff-index" command,
+   e.g. "git diff-index HEAD -- '*.txt'", incorrectly reported additions of
+   matching files even when there is no change.
+
  * When producing a "thin pack" (primarily used in bundles and smart
    HTTP transfers) out of a fully packed repository, we unnecessarily
    avoided sending recent objects as a delta against objects we know
diff --git a/diff-lib.c b/diff-lib.c
index 62f4cd94cf..fc0dff31b5 100644
--- a/diff-lib.c
+++ b/diff-lib.c
@@ -469,6 +469,8 @@ static int diff_cache(struct rev_info *revs,
 	opts.src_index = &the_index;
 	opts.dst_index = NULL;
 	opts.pathspec = &revs->diffopt.pathspec;
+	opts.pathspec->recursive = 1;
+	opts.pathspec->max_depth = -1;
 
 	init_tree_desc(&t, tree->buffer, tree->size);
 	return unpack_trees(1, &t, &opts);
diff --git a/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh b/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh
index fbc8cd8f05..af5134b70c 100755
--- a/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh
+++ b/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ test_expect_success \
     'git diff-index --cached $tree -- path1/ >current &&
      compare_diff_raw current expected'
 
+cat >expected <<\EOF
+:100644 100644 766498d93a4b06057a8e49d23f4068f1170ff38f 0a41e115ab61be0328a19b29f18cdcb49338d516 M	path1/file1
+EOF
+test_expect_success \
+    '"*file1" should show path1/file1' \
+    'git diff-index --cached $tree -- "*file1" >current &&
+     compare_diff_raw current expected'
+
 cat >expected <<\EOF
 :100644 100644 766498d93a4b06057a8e49d23f4068f1170ff38f 0a41e115ab61be0328a19b29f18cdcb49338d516 M	file0
 EOF