diff --git a/sound/pci/hda/patch_via.c b/sound/pci/hda/patch_via.c
index aea7fae2ca4b..2994f85bc1b9 100644
--- a/sound/pci/hda/patch_via.c
+++ b/sound/pci/hda/patch_via.c
@@ -819,6 +819,9 @@ static int add_secret_dac_path(struct hda_codec *codec)
 		return 0;
 	nums = snd_hda_get_connections(codec, spec->gen.mixer_nid, conn,
 				       ARRAY_SIZE(conn) - 1);
+	if (nums < 0)
+		return nums;
+
 	for (i = 0; i < nums; i++) {
 		if (get_wcaps_type(get_wcaps(codec, conn[i])) == AC_WID_AUD_OUT)
 			return 0;