diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_firmware.c b/src/qemu/qemu_firmware.c
index ffe2df20aa..480ce0b00d 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_firmware.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_firmware.c
@@ -434,10 +434,17 @@ qemuFirmwareMappingParse(const char *path,
                          virJSONValuePtr doc,
                          qemuFirmwarePtr fw)
 {
-    virJSONValuePtr mapping = virJSONValueObjectGet(doc, "mapping");
+    virJSONValuePtr mapping;
     const char *deviceStr;
     int tmp;
 
+    if (!(mapping = virJSONValueObjectGet(doc, "mapping"))) {
+        virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR,
+                       _("missing mapping in '%s'"),
+                       path);
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     if (!(deviceStr = virJSONValueObjectGetString(mapping, "device"))) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR,
                        _("missing device type in '%s'"),