diff --git a/src/csync_journal.c b/src/csync_journal.c
index 77c1932b64..e777a02f8a 100644
--- a/src/csync_journal.c
+++ b/src/csync_journal.c
@@ -228,6 +228,9 @@ int csync_journal_drop_tables(CSYNC *ctx) {
   result = csync_journal_query(ctx,
       "DROP TABLE IF EXISTS metadata;"
       );
+  if (result == NULL) {
+    return -1;
+  }
   c_strlist_destroy(result);
 
   return 0;