diff --git a/src/util/virsystemd.c b/src/util/virsystemd.c
index ceb1c1a958..83737a2c6f 100644
--- a/src/util/virsystemd.c
+++ b/src/util/virsystemd.c
@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ virSystemdAppendValidMachineName(virBufferPtr buf,
     bool skip_dot = false;
 
     for (; *name; name++) {
+        if (virBufferError(buf))
+            break;
         if (strlen(virBufferCurrentContent(buf)) >= 64)
             break;