diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c b/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c
index 93527547ba..fc3df8943a 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_monitor.c
@@ -3078,11 +3078,14 @@ qemuMonitorAddObject(qemuMonitorPtr mon,
     if (alias)
         tmp = g_strdup(id);
 
-    ret = qemuMonitorJSONAddObject(mon, props);
+    if (qemuMonitorJSONAddObject(mon, props) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
 
     if (alias)
         *alias = g_steal_pointer(&tmp);
 
+    ret = 0;
+
  cleanup:
     VIR_FREE(tmp);
     virJSONValueFree(*props);