diff --git a/libavcodec/h264_slice.c b/libavcodec/h264_slice.c
index 14b945756b..84b5710ab4 100644
--- a/libavcodec/h264_slice.c
+++ b/libavcodec/h264_slice.c
@@ -922,6 +922,11 @@ static int h264_slice_header_init(H264Context *h)
     const SPS *sps = h->ps.sps;
     int i, ret;
 
+    if (!sps) {
+        ret = AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
     ff_set_sar(h->avctx, sps->sar);
     av_pix_fmt_get_chroma_sub_sample(h->avctx->pix_fmt,
                                      &h->chroma_x_shift, &h->chroma_y_shift);