diff --git a/libavcodec/4xm.c b/libavcodec/4xm.c
index d428f53275..21bde52fee 100644
--- a/libavcodec/4xm.c
+++ b/libavcodec/4xm.c
@@ -602,9 +602,10 @@ static const uint8_t *read_huffman_tables(FourXContext *f, const uint8_t * const
         len_tab[j]= len;
     }
 
-    init_vlc(&f->pre_vlc, ACDC_VLC_BITS, 257,
-             len_tab , 1, 1,
-             bits_tab, 4, 4, 0);
+    if (init_vlc(&f->pre_vlc, ACDC_VLC_BITS, 257,
+                 len_tab , 1, 1,
+                 bits_tab, 4, 4, 0))
+        return NULL;
 
     return ptr;
 }