diff --git a/libavcodec/vble.c b/libavcodec/vble.c
index 4511433a6c..c48feb9a59 100644
--- a/libavcodec/vble.c
+++ b/libavcodec/vble.c
@@ -130,10 +130,6 @@ static int vble_decode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVFrame *pic,
         return AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
     }
 
-    /* Allocate buffer */
-    if ((ret = ff_thread_get_buffer(avctx, pic, 0)) < 0)
-        return ret;
-
     /* Version should always be 1 */
     version = AV_RL32(src);
 
@@ -148,6 +144,10 @@ static int vble_decode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx, AVFrame *pic,
         return AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
     }
 
+    /* Allocate buffer */
+    if ((ret = ff_thread_get_buffer(avctx, pic, 0)) < 0)
+        return ret;
+
     /* Restore planes. Should be almost identical to Huffyuv's. */
     vble_restore_plane(ctx, pic, &gb, 0, offset, avctx->width, avctx->height);