diff --git a/libavcodec/pngdec.c b/libavcodec/pngdec.c
index ba1b39ed8f..ac49954ad0 100644
--- a/libavcodec/pngdec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/pngdec.c
@@ -1303,7 +1303,7 @@ static int decode_frame_png(AVCodecContext *avctx,
         goto the_end;
 
     if ((ret = av_frame_ref(data, s->picture.f)) < 0)
-        return ret;
+        goto the_end;
 
     *got_frame = 1;