diff --git a/libavcodec/h264_cavlc.c b/libavcodec/h264_cavlc.c
index 3fa5b2e197..97ec6fd4ae 100644
--- a/libavcodec/h264_cavlc.c
+++ b/libavcodec/h264_cavlc.c
@@ -1113,6 +1113,7 @@ decode_intra_mb:
             else                sl->qscale -= max_qp+1;
             if (((unsigned)sl->qscale) > max_qp){
                 av_log(h->avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "dquant out of range (%d) at %d %d\n", dquant, sl->mb_x, sl->mb_y);
+                sl->qscale = max_qp;
                 return -1;
             }
         }