diff --git a/database_info.c b/database_info.c
index cc700e586b..7bb8791b09 100644
--- a/database_info.c
+++ b/database_info.c
@@ -121,7 +121,10 @@ int database_info_write_rdl(const char *dir)
 static char *bin_to_hex_alloc(const uint8_t *data, size_t len)
 {
    size_t i;
-   char *ret= (char*)malloc(len*2+1);
+   char *ret= (char*)malloc(len * 2 + 1);
+
+   if (len && !ret)
+      return NULL;
    
    for (i = 0; i < len; i++)
       snprintf(ret+i*2, 3, "%02X", data[i]);