diff --git a/source/locking/brlock.c b/source/locking/brlock.c
index 9b8dcfd15e7..9b90d87ff0b 100644
--- a/source/locking/brlock.c
+++ b/source/locking/brlock.c
@@ -1642,8 +1642,8 @@ static struct byte_range_lock *brl_get_locks_internal(TALLOC_CTX *mem_ctx,
 	talloc_set_destructor(br_lck, byte_range_lock_destructor);
 
 	br_lck->num_locks = data.dsize / sizeof(struct lock_struct);
-	if (!(br_lck->lock_data = SMB_MALLOC_ARRAY(
-		      struct lock_struct, br_lck->num_locks))) {
+	br_lck->lock_data = SMB_MALLOC_ARRAY(struct lock_struct, br_lck->num_locks);
+	if ((br_lck->num_locks != 0) && (br_lck->lock_data == NULL)) {
 		DEBUG(0, ("malloc failed\n"));
 		TALLOC_FREE(br_lck);
 		return NULL;