diff --git a/src/util/vircommand.c b/src/util/vircommand.c
index 9e99697c55..8695c98d1b 100644
--- a/src/util/vircommand.c
+++ b/src/util/vircommand.c
@@ -1034,6 +1034,9 @@ virCommandPassFDGetFDIndex(virCommandPtr cmd, int fd)
 {
     size_t i = 0;
 
+    if (!cmd || cmd->has_error)
+        return -1;
+
     while (i < cmd->npassfd) {
         if (cmd->passfd[i].fd == fd)
             return i;