diff --git a/libavcodec/diracdec.c b/libavcodec/diracdec.c
index 3d42a9d3f0..c70a0c7902 100644
--- a/libavcodec/diracdec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/diracdec.c
@@ -1665,6 +1665,7 @@ static int dirac_decode_picture_header(DiracContext *s)
                 if (!s->all_frames[j].avframe.data[0]) {
                     s->ref_pics[i] = &s->all_frames[j];
                     s->avctx->get_buffer(s->avctx, &s->ref_pics[i]->avframe);
+                    break;
                 }
     }