diff --git a/src/input/item.c b/src/input/item.c
index cf56ce98f78fe261fd3482072e6dcf612d47bbfc..376cf59b08febdcc2c402ede520de21e6ab37da1 100644
--- a/src/input/item.c
+++ b/src/input/item.c
@@ -1665,6 +1665,8 @@ int vlc_readdir_helper_additem(struct vlc_readdir_helper *p_rdh,
     input_item_CopyOptions(p_item, p_rdh->p_node->p_item);
     p_node = input_item_node_AppendItem(p_rdh->p_node, p_item);
     input_item_Release(p_item);
+    if (p_node == NULL)
+        return VLC_ENOMEM;
 
     /* A slave can also be an item. If there is a match, this item will be
      * removed from the parent node. This is not a common case, since most