diff --git a/tools/libxc/xc_private.c b/tools/libxc/xc_private.c
index 90974d572e..13a2c723c1 100644
--- a/tools/libxc/xc_private.c
+++ b/tools/libxc/xc_private.c
@@ -722,6 +722,7 @@ int writev_exact(int fd, const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt)
                     if ( !local_iov )
                     {
                         saved_errno = ENOMEM;
+                        rc = -1;
                         goto out;
                     }