diff --git a/security/commoncap.c b/security/commoncap.c
index 48620c93d697..1ce701fcb3f3 100644
--- a/security/commoncap.c
+++ b/security/commoncap.c
@@ -449,6 +449,8 @@ int cap_inode_getsecurity(struct inode *inode, const char *name, void **buffer,
 				magic |= VFS_CAP_FLAGS_EFFECTIVE;
 			memcpy(&cap->data, &nscap->data, sizeof(__le32) * 2 * VFS_CAP_U32);
 			cap->magic_etc = cpu_to_le32(magic);
+		} else {
+			size = -ENOMEM;
 		}
 	}
 	kfree(tmpbuf);