diff --git a/library/ssl_tls.c b/library/ssl_tls.c
index 545317a..44e972c 100644
--- a/library/ssl_tls.c
+++ b/library/ssl_tls.c
@@ -1913,6 +1913,9 @@
     ssl->hostname_len = strlen( hostname );
     ssl->hostname = (unsigned char *) malloc( ssl->hostname_len + 1 );
 
+    if( ssl->hostname == NULL )
+        return( POLARSSL_ERR_SSL_MALLOC_FAILED );
+
     memcpy( ssl->hostname, (unsigned char *) hostname,
             ssl->hostname_len );