diff --git a/http-push.c b/http-push.c
index 82018009f..281e153eb 100644
--- a/http-push.c
+++ b/http-push.c
@@ -1065,6 +1065,8 @@ static int setup_index(unsigned char *sha1)
 		return -1;
 
 	new_pack = parse_pack_index(sha1);
+	if (!new_pack)
+		return -1; /* parse_pack_index() already issued error message */
 	new_pack->next = repo->packs;
 	repo->packs = new_pack;
 	return 0;