diff --git a/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/nand_base.c b/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/nand_base.c
index 6f3c1bcfc0ba..2830440c7a89 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/nand_base.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/nand_base.c
@@ -2154,7 +2154,7 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(nand_reset_op);
 int nand_read_data_op(struct nand_chip *chip, void *buf, unsigned int len,
 		      bool force_8bit, bool check_only)
 {
-	if (!len || !buf)
+	if (!len || (!check_only && !buf))
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	if (nand_has_exec_op(chip)) {