diff --git a/libavutil/opt.c b/libavutil/opt.c
index cffa5a6a24..ea2a5b7d48 100644
--- a/libavutil/opt.c
+++ b/libavutil/opt.c
@@ -1608,6 +1608,9 @@ void av_opt_freep_ranges(AVOptionRanges **rangesp)
     int i;
     AVOptionRanges *ranges = *rangesp;
 
+    if (!ranges)
+        return;
+
     for (i = 0; i < ranges->nb_ranges * ranges->nb_components; i++) {
         AVOptionRange *range = ranges->range[i];
         av_freep(&range->str);