diff --git a/src/util/virsocketaddr.c b/src/util/virsocketaddr.c
index 95b527436851571fbb8c2de8df7d93197b5cceee..31a740cb89898cb91e65f8942a3357de73473b3d 100644
--- a/src/util/virsocketaddr.c
+++ b/src/util/virsocketaddr.c
@@ -107,7 +107,8 @@ virSocketAddrParseInternal(struct addrinfo **res,
     int err;
 
     if (val == NULL) {
-        virReportError(VIR_ERR_INVALID_ARG, "%s", _("Missing address"));
+        if (reportError)
+            virReportError(VIR_ERR_INVALID_ARG, "%s", _("Missing address"));
         return -1;
     }