diff --git a/libavcodec/ac3_parser.c b/libavcodec/ac3_parser.c
index 13b8d3b7d8..283139288c 100644
--- a/libavcodec/ac3_parser.c
+++ b/libavcodec/ac3_parser.c
@@ -204,7 +204,9 @@ int av_ac3_parse_header(const uint8_t *buf, size_t size,
     AC3HeaderInfo hdr;
     int err;
 
-    init_get_bits8(&gb, buf, size);
+    err = init_get_bits8(&gb, buf, size);
+    if (err < 0)
+        return AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
     err = ff_ac3_parse_header(&gb, &hdr);
     if (err < 0)
         return AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;