diff --git a/common/dlmalloc.c b/common/dlmalloc.c
index 7ad368ee5..b4341fef5 100644
--- a/common/dlmalloc.c
+++ b/common/dlmalloc.c
@@ -1750,11 +1750,11 @@ void *calloc(size_t n, size_t elem_size)
 	mchunkptr oldtop = top;
 	INTERNAL_SIZE_T oldtopsize = chunksize(top);
 
-	void *mem = malloc(sz);
-
 	if ((long)n < 0)
 		return NULL;
 
+	void *mem = malloc(sz);
+
 	if (!mem)
 		return NULL;
 	else {