diff --git a/security/commoncap.c b/security/commoncap.c
index a6c9bb4441d5..28d582ed80c9 100644
--- a/security/commoncap.c
+++ b/security/commoncap.c
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ int cap_inode_getsecurity(struct inode *inode, const char *name, void **buffer,
 				 &tmpbuf, size, GFP_NOFS);
 	dput(dentry);
 
-	if (ret < 0)
+	if (ret < 0 || !tmpbuf)
 		return ret;
 
 	fs_ns = inode->i_sb->s_user_ns;