diff --git a/criu/cr-service.c b/criu/cr-service.c
index f62245d5f..61a04c5ff 100644
--- a/criu/cr-service.c
+++ b/criu/cr-service.c
@@ -382,8 +382,14 @@ static int setup_opts_from_req(int sk, CriuOpts *req)
 	 */
 	if (imgs_changed_by_rpc_conf)
 		strncpy(images_dir_path, opts.imgs_dir, PATH_MAX - 1);
-	else
+	else if (req->images_dir_fd != -1)
 		sprintf(images_dir_path, "/proc/%d/fd/%d", ids.pid, req->images_dir_fd);
+	else if (req->images_dir)
+		strncpy(images_dir_path, req->images_dir, PATH_MAX - 1);
+	else {
+		pr_err("Neither images_dir_fd nor images_dir was passed by RPC client.\n");
+		goto err;
+	}
 
 	if (req->parent_img)
 		SET_CHAR_OPTS(img_parent, req->parent_img);
diff --git a/images/rpc.proto b/images/rpc.proto
index 8748bdaff..1a4722a9c 100644
--- a/images/rpc.proto
+++ b/images/rpc.proto
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ enum criu_pre_dump_mode {
 };
 
 message criu_opts {
-	required int32			images_dir_fd	= 1;
+	required int32			images_dir_fd	= 1 [default = -1];
+	optional string			images_dir	= 68; /* used only if images_dir_fd == -1 */
 	optional int32			pid		= 2; /* if not set on dump, will dump requesting process */
 
 	optional bool			leave_running	= 3;