diff --git a/src/mesa/drivers/dri/i965/brw_bufmgr.c b/src/mesa/drivers/dri/i965/brw_bufmgr.c
index f0d69379f5f..65488c85201 100644
--- a/src/mesa/drivers/dri/i965/brw_bufmgr.c
+++ b/src/mesa/drivers/dri/i965/brw_bufmgr.c
@@ -1947,7 +1947,8 @@ brw_bufmgr_get_for_fd(struct gen_device_info *devinfo, int fd, bool bo_reuse)
    }
 
    bufmgr = brw_bufmgr_create(devinfo, fd, bo_reuse);
-   list_addtail(&bufmgr->link, &global_bufmgr_list);
+   if (bufmgr)
+      list_addtail(&bufmgr->link, &global_bufmgr_list);
 
  unlock:
    mtx_unlock(&global_bufmgr_list_mutex);