diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_capabilities.c b/src/qemu/qemu_capabilities.c
index a95a60c36a..3afe8a7b2c 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_capabilities.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_capabilities.c
@@ -1713,7 +1713,8 @@ virQEMUCapsNewBinary(const char *binary)
 {
     virQEMUCapsPtr qemuCaps = virQEMUCapsNew();
 
-    qemuCaps->binary = g_strdup(binary);
+    if (qemuCaps)
+        qemuCaps->binary = g_strdup(binary);
 
     return qemuCaps;
 }