diff --git a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-dma-buf.c b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-dma-buf.c
index 21560cd54..ada2b5cc1 100644
--- a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-dma-buf.c
+++ b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-dma-buf.c
@@ -277,6 +277,11 @@ meta_wayland_dma_buf_try_acquire_scanout (MetaWaylandDmaBufBuffer *dma_buf,
 
   gpu_kms = meta_renderer_native_get_primary_gpu (renderer_native);
   gbm_bo = create_gbm_bo (dma_buf, gpu_kms, n_planes, &use_modifier);
+  if (!gbm_bo)
+    {
+      g_debug ("Failed to import scanout gbm_bo: %s", g_strerror (errno));
+      return NULL;
+    }
 
   fb = meta_drm_buffer_gbm_new_take (gpu_kms, gbm_bo,
                                      use_modifier,