diff --git a/src/ssl.c b/src/ssl.c
index 14a160dc2..8fa25bbf4 100644
--- a/src/ssl.c
+++ b/src/ssl.c
@@ -45557,6 +45557,9 @@ int wolfSSL_X509_NAME_print_ex(WOLFSSL_BIO* bio, WOLFSSL_X509_NAME* name,
             return WOLFSSL_FAILURE;
     }
 
+    if (name->sz == 0)
+        return WOLFSSL_FAILURE;
+
 #if defined(WOLFSSL_APACHE_HTTPD) || defined(OPENSSL_ALL) || defined(WOLFSSL_NGINX)
     /* If XN_FLAG_DN_REV is present, print X509_NAME in reverse order */
     if (flags == (XN_FLAG_RFC2253 & ~XN_FLAG_DN_REV)) {