diff --git a/hw/i386/smbios.c b/hw/i386/smbios.c
index 6431dd4d849b116238043256a9576de4a1bbc1e5..e708cb8919c864415471366f9f4b8f12e4b18e86 100644
--- a/hw/i386/smbios.c
+++ b/hw/i386/smbios.c
@@ -140,7 +140,10 @@ static void smbios_build_type_0_fields(const char *t)
                                      bios_release_date_str),
                          buf, strlen(buf) + 1);
     if (get_param_value(buf, sizeof(buf), "release", t)) {
-        sscanf(buf, "%hhu.%hhu", &major, &minor);
+        if (sscanf(buf, "%hhu.%hhu", &major, &minor) != 2) {
+            error_report("Invalid release");
+            exit(1);
+        }
         smbios_add_field(0, offsetof(struct smbios_type_0,
                                      system_bios_major_release),
                          &major, 1);