diff --git a/src/vmware/vmware_conf.c b/src/vmware/vmware_conf.c
index b514636954..fd9c47346b 100644
--- a/src/vmware/vmware_conf.c
+++ b/src/vmware/vmware_conf.c
@@ -127,7 +127,8 @@ vmwareCapsInit(void)
 
 cleanup:
     virCPUDefFree(cpu);
-    cpuDataFree(caps->host.arch, data);
+    if (caps)
+        cpuDataFree(caps->host.arch, data);
 
     return caps;