diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index 301ec588bd..cf5c19b1db 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -3165,7 +3165,7 @@ static BlockDriverState *bdrv_open_inherit(const char *filename,
     }
 
     ret = bdrv_fill_options(&options, filename, &flags, &local_err);
-    if (local_err) {
+    if (ret < 0) {
         goto fail;
     }