diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index f1983f33e6..ff83d1c024 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -20728,7 +20728,8 @@ qemuDomainGetResctrlMonData(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     size_t i = 0;
     size_t j = 0;
 
-    caps = virQEMUDriverGetCapabilities(driver, false);
+    if (!(caps = virQEMUDriverGetCapabilities(driver, false)))
+        return -1;
 
     switch (tag) {
     case VIR_RESCTRL_MONITOR_TYPE_CACHE: