diff --git a/libavcodec/vp3.c b/libavcodec/vp3.c
index a6f759ebf5..6ce901eda9 100644
--- a/libavcodec/vp3.c
+++ b/libavcodec/vp3.c
@@ -2957,6 +2957,10 @@ static int theora_decode_header(AVCodecContext *avctx, GetBitContext *gb)
     s->theora_header = 0;
     s->theora = get_bits_long(gb, 24);
     av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_DEBUG, "Theora bitstream version %X\n", s->theora);
+    if (!s->theora) {
+        s->theora = 1;
+        avpriv_request_sample(s->avctx, "theora 0");
+    }
 
     /* 3.2.0 aka alpha3 has the same frame orientation as original vp3
      * but previous versions have the image flipped relative to vp3 */