diff --git a/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c b/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c
index a149f8fb6d..2fe4f0b0f9 100644
--- a/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c
+++ b/libavfilter/avfiltergraph.c
@@ -419,8 +419,10 @@ static int can_merge_formats(AVFilterFormats *a_arg,
         av_freep(&ret);
         return 1;
     } else {
-        av_freep(&a->formats);
-        av_freep(&b->formats);
+        if (a)
+            av_freep(&a->formats);
+        if (b)
+            av_freep(&b->formats);
         av_freep(&a);
         av_freep(&b);
         return 0;