diff --git a/src/control/control.c b/src/control/control.c
index d66ed755..dd428a15 100644
--- a/src/control/control.c
+++ b/src/control/control.c
@@ -864,6 +864,7 @@ static int snd_ctl_open_conf(snd_ctl_t **ctlp, const char *name,
 	if (err >= 0) {
 		if (snd_config_get_type(type_conf) != SND_CONFIG_TYPE_COMPOUND) {
 			SNDERR("Invalid type for CTL type %s definition", str);
+			err = -EINVAL;
 			goto _err;
 		}
 		snd_config_for_each(i, next, type_conf) {