diff --git a/src/util/vircgroup.c b/src/util/vircgroup.c
index d408e3366f..5f4cb01bc0 100644
--- a/src/util/vircgroup.c
+++ b/src/util/vircgroup.c
@@ -2591,6 +2591,7 @@ virCgroupKillRecursive(virCgroupPtr group, int signum)
     if (!backends || !backendAvailable) {
         virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s",
                        _("no cgroup backend available"));
+        ret = -1;
         goto cleanup;
     }