diff --git a/libavcodec/error_resilience.c b/libavcodec/error_resilience.c
index 15c5b39329..2691109e49 100644
--- a/libavcodec/error_resilience.c
+++ b/libavcodec/error_resilience.c
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ static void decode_mb(MpegEncContext *s, int ref)
          * practice then correct remapping should be added. */
         if (ref >= h->ref_count[0])
             ref = 0;
+        if (!h->ref_list[0][ref].f.data[0]) {
+            av_log(s->avctx, AV_LOG_DEBUG, "Reference not available for error concealing\n");
+            ref = 0;
+        }
         fill_rectangle(&s->current_picture.f.ref_index[0][4 * h->mb_xy],
                        2, 2, 2, ref, 1);
         fill_rectangle(&h->ref_cache[0][scan8[0]], 4, 4, 8, ref, 1);