diff --git a/services/cache/rrset.c b/services/cache/rrset.c
index 58f77922a..2c8552953 100644
--- a/services/cache/rrset.c
+++ b/services/cache/rrset.c
@@ -305,9 +305,10 @@ rrset_array_unlock_touch(struct rrset_cache* r, struct regional* scratch,
 	hashvalue_t* h;
 	size_t i;
 	if(count > RR_COUNT_MAX || !(h = (hashvalue_t*)regional_alloc(scratch, 
-		sizeof(hashvalue_t)*count)))
+		sizeof(hashvalue_t)*count))) {
 		log_warn("rrset LRU: memory allocation failed");
-	else 	/* store hash values */
+		h = NULL;
+	} else 	/* store hash values */
 		for(i=0; i<count; i++)
 			h[i] = ref[i].key->entry.hash;
 	/* unlock */