diff --git a/lib/ldb-samba/ldif_handlers.c b/lib/ldb-samba/ldif_handlers.c
index 83199019ed3..1229d7466b6 100644
--- a/lib/ldb-samba/ldif_handlers.c
+++ b/lib/ldb-samba/ldif_handlers.c
@@ -1174,7 +1174,9 @@ static int samba_ldb_dn_link_comparison(struct ldb_context *ldb, void *mem_ctx,
 	}
 
 	dn1 = ldb_dn_from_ldb_val(mem_ctx, ldb, v1);
-	if ( ! ldb_dn_validate(dn1)) return -1;
+	if ( ! ldb_dn_validate(dn1)) {
+		return 1;
+	}
 
 	dn2 = ldb_dn_from_ldb_val(mem_ctx, ldb, v2);
 	if ( ! ldb_dn_validate(dn2)) {