diff --git a/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr.c b/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr.c
index df94396db..fbbec9f48 100644
--- a/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr.c
+++ b/lib/nvme/nvme_ctrlr.c
@@ -909,6 +909,12 @@ nvme_ctrlr_identify_active_ns(struct spdk_nvme_ctrlr *ctrlr)
 	uint32_t				next_nsid = 0;
 	uint32_t				*new_ns_list = NULL;
 
+	if (ctrlr->num_ns == 0) {
+		spdk_dma_free(ctrlr->active_ns_list);
+		ctrlr->active_ns_list = NULL;
+
+		return 0;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * The allocated size must be a multiple of sizeof(struct spdk_nvme_ns_list)