diff --git a/drivers/md/dm-ioctl.c b/drivers/md/dm-ioctl.c
index ac83f5002ce5..1c5133f71af3 100644
--- a/drivers/md/dm-ioctl.c
+++ b/drivers/md/dm-ioctl.c
@@ -1600,6 +1600,7 @@ static int target_message(struct file *filp, struct dm_ioctl *param, size_t para
 
 	if (!argc) {
 		DMWARN("Empty message received.");
+		r = -EINVAL;
 		goto out_argv;
 	}