diff --git a/libavformat/yuv4mpeg.c b/libavformat/yuv4mpeg.c
index 6f1eb5d6e6..d05d8f6514 100644
--- a/libavformat/yuv4mpeg.c
+++ b/libavformat/yuv4mpeg.c
@@ -322,6 +322,8 @@ static int yuv4_read_header(AVFormatContext *s, AVFormatParameters *ap)
     }
 
     st = av_new_stream(s, 0);
+    if(!st)
+        return -1;
     st->codec->width = width;
     st->codec->height = height;
     av_reduce(&raten, &rated, raten, rated, (1UL<<31)-1);