diff --git a/library/bignum.c b/library/bignum.c
index f42b97650..89a62a1c4 100644
--- a/library/bignum.c
+++ b/library/bignum.c
@@ -1366,7 +1366,10 @@ int mbedtls_mpi_sub_abs( mbedtls_mpi *X, const mbedtls_mpi *A, const mbedtls_mpi
         /* If we ran out of space for the carry, it means that the result
          * is negative. */
         if( n == X->n )
-            return( MBEDTLS_ERR_MPI_NEGATIVE_VALUE );
+        {
+            ret = MBEDTLS_ERR_MPI_NEGATIVE_VALUE;
+            goto cleanup;
+        }
         --X->p[n];
     }