diff --git a/src/pcm/pcm.c b/src/pcm/pcm.c
index 2e243382..4a7be6c1 100644
--- a/src/pcm/pcm.c
+++ b/src/pcm/pcm.c
@@ -2145,6 +2145,7 @@ static int snd_pcm_open_conf(snd_pcm_t **pcmp, const char *name,
 	if (err >= 0) {
 		if (snd_config_get_type(type_conf) != SND_CONFIG_TYPE_COMPOUND) {
 			SNDERR("Invalid type for PCM type %s definition", str);
+			err = -EINVAL;
 			goto _err;
 		}
 		snd_config_for_each(i, next, type_conf) {