diff --git a/src/control/namehint.c b/src/control/namehint.c
index 4927ef97..60c48ae3 100644
--- a/src/control/namehint.c
+++ b/src/control/namehint.c
@@ -349,7 +349,8 @@ static int try_config(snd_config_t *config,
 	if (snd_config_search(res, "@args", &cfg) >= 0) {
 		snd_config_for_each(i, next, cfg) {
 			/* skip the argument list */
-			snd_config_get_id(snd_config_iterator_entry(i), &str);
+			if (snd_config_get_id(snd_config_iterator_entry(i), &str) < 0)
+				continue;
 			while (*str && *str >= '0' && *str <= '9') str++;
 			if (*str == '\0')
 				continue;