diff --git a/libavcodec/mpeg4audio.c b/libavcodec/mpeg4audio.c
index 8aa3219207..68448e6fa2 100644
--- a/libavcodec/mpeg4audio.c
+++ b/libavcodec/mpeg4audio.c
@@ -84,10 +84,8 @@ int avpriv_mpeg4audio_get_config(MPEG4AudioConfig *c, const uint8_t *buf,
     GetBitContext gb;
     int specific_config_bitindex;
 
-    if(bit_size<=0)
+    if (bit_size <= 0 || init_get_bits(&gb, buf, bit_size) < 0)
         return AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
-
-    init_get_bits(&gb, buf, bit_size);
     c->object_type = get_object_type(&gb);
     c->sample_rate = get_sample_rate(&gb, &c->sampling_index);
     c->chan_config = get_bits(&gb, 4);