diff --git a/libavformat/rl2.c b/libavformat/rl2.c
index 800e12edbe..fb7409eaa6 100644
--- a/libavformat/rl2.c
+++ b/libavformat/rl2.c
@@ -136,8 +136,10 @@ static av_cold int rl2_read_header(AVFormatContext *s)
 
     /** setup audio stream if present */
     if(sound_rate){
-        if(channels <= 0)
+        if (!channels || channels > 42) {
+            av_log(s, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Invalid number of channels: %d\n", channels);
             return AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
+        }
 
         pts_num = def_sound_size;
         pts_den = rate;