diff --git a/libavcodec/evrcdec.c b/libavcodec/evrcdec.c
index 20d0fe7cd4..c605a13d74 100644
--- a/libavcodec/evrcdec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/evrcdec.c
@@ -760,7 +760,8 @@ static int evrc_decode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx, void *data,
                                  && !e->prev_error_flag)
         goto erasure;
 
-    init_get_bits(&e->gb, buf, 8 * buf_size);
+    if ((ret = init_get_bits8(&e->gb, buf, buf_size)) < 0)
+        return ret;
     memset(&e->frame, 0, sizeof(EVRCAFrame));
 
     unpack_frame(e);