diff --git a/src/conf.c b/src/conf.c
index 5ccc8e1a..bb256e7a 100644
--- a/src/conf.c
+++ b/src/conf.c
@@ -4198,6 +4198,7 @@ static int _snd_config_evaluate(snd_config_t *src,
 			snd_config_iterator_t i, next;
 			if (snd_config_get_type(func_conf) != SND_CONFIG_TYPE_COMPOUND) {
 				SNDERR("Invalid type for func %s definition", str);
+				err = -EINVAL;
 				goto _err;
 			}
 			snd_config_for_each(i, next, func_conf) {