diff --git a/libavcodec/utils.c b/libavcodec/utils.c
index 3232a242c0..45295dd3ce 100644
--- a/libavcodec/utils.c
+++ b/libavcodec/utils.c
@@ -667,6 +667,15 @@ int attribute_align_arg avcodec_open2(AVCodecContext *avctx, const AVCodec *code
         ret = AVERROR(EINVAL);
         goto free_and_end;
     }
+    if (av_codec_is_decoder(codec) &&
+        codec->type == AVMEDIA_TYPE_AUDIO &&
+        !(codec->capabilities & AV_CODEC_CAP_CHANNEL_CONF) &&
+        avctx->channels == 0) {
+        av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Decoder requires channel count but channels not set\n");
+        ret = AVERROR(EINVAL);
+        goto free_and_end;
+    }
+
     if (avctx->sample_rate < 0) {
         av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Invalid sample rate: %d\n", avctx->sample_rate);
         ret = AVERROR(EINVAL);