diff --git a/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h b/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h
index 1cbcad9be2..7d7ef5f7f1 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h
+++ b/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ int nvme_subsys_register_ctrl(NvmeCtrl *n, Error **errp);
 static inline NvmeCtrl *nvme_subsys_ctrl(NvmeSubsystem *subsys,
         uint32_t cntlid)
 {
-    if (!subsys) {
+    if (!subsys || cntlid >= NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_CTRLS) {
         return NULL;
     }