diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c
index 7d60da1b7bf4..319ed601eaa1 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c
@@ -822,6 +822,8 @@ static int igb_set_eeprom(struct net_device *netdev,
 		 */
 		ret_val = hw->nvm.ops.read(hw, last_word, 1,
 				   &eeprom_buff[last_word - first_word]);
+		if (ret_val)
+			goto out;
 	}
 
 	/* Device's eeprom is always little-endian, word addressable */
@@ -841,6 +843,7 @@ static int igb_set_eeprom(struct net_device *netdev,
 		hw->nvm.ops.update(hw);
 
 	igb_set_fw_version(adapter);
+out:
 	kfree(eeprom_buff);
 	return ret_val;
 }