diff --git a/src/ssl_sock.c b/src/ssl_sock.c
index ec271c922..f596a831d 100644
--- a/src/ssl_sock.c
+++ b/src/ssl_sock.c
@@ -636,6 +636,8 @@ int ssl_init_single_engine(const char *engine_id, const char *def_algorithms)
 	}
 
 	el = calloc(1, sizeof(*el));
+	if (!el)
+		goto fail_alloc;
 	el->e = engine;
 	LIST_INSERT(&openssl_engines, &el->list);
 	nb_engines++;
@@ -643,6 +645,7 @@ int ssl_init_single_engine(const char *engine_id, const char *def_algorithms)
 		global.ssl_used_async_engines = nb_engines;
 	return 0;
 
+fail_alloc:
 fail_set_method:
 	/* release the functional reference from ENGINE_init() */
 	ENGINE_finish(engine);