diff --git a/sha1_name.c b/sha1_name.c
index 4c0bc9c5b5..2575ea77f4 100644
--- a/sha1_name.c
+++ b/sha1_name.c
@@ -494,8 +494,11 @@ static int peel_onion(const char *name, int len, unsigned char *sha1)
 				return error("%.*s: expected %s type, but the object dereferences to %s type",
 					     len, name, typename(expected_type),
 					     typename(o->type));
+			if (!o)
+				return -1;
 			if (!o->parsed)
-				parse_object(o->sha1);
+				if (!parse_object(o->sha1))
+					return -1;
 		}
 	}
 	return 0;