diff --git a/hw/vfio/platform.c b/hw/vfio/platform.c
index 1a35da04c3..484e31f233 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/platform.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/platform.c
@@ -508,6 +508,7 @@ static int vfio_populate_device(VFIODevice *vbasedev, Error **errp)
                                                     irq.flags);
             intp = vfio_init_intp(vbasedev, irq, errp);
             if (!intp) {
+                ret = -1;
                 goto irq_err;
             }
         }