diff --git a/modules/imgcodecs/src/jpeg_exif.cpp b/modules/imgcodecs/src/jpeg_exif.cpp
index 103e72ddec444598c8d97322546d550fb9ac9b64..ebc4f053529708ec5f1c70932a057baff212087c 100644
--- a/modules/imgcodecs/src/jpeg_exif.cpp
+++ b/modules/imgcodecs/src/jpeg_exif.cpp
@@ -245,7 +245,10 @@ void ExifReader::parseExif()
  */
 Endianess_t ExifReader::getFormat() const
 {
-    if( m_data[0] != m_data[1] )
+    if (m_data.size() < 1)
+        return NONE;
+
+    if( m_data.size() > 1 && m_data[0] != m_data[1] )
     {
         return NONE;
     }