diff --git a/tests/commandtest.c b/tests/commandtest.c
index c5c3a9adfb..7d2161c77e 100644
--- a/tests/commandtest.c
+++ b/tests/commandtest.c
@@ -690,6 +690,7 @@ static int test17(const void *unused ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED)
         goto cleanup;
     }
 
+    sa_assert(outbuf);
     if (*outbuf) {
         puts("output buffer is not an allocated empty string");
         goto cleanup;