diff --git a/target/linux/generic/files/drivers/mtd/mtdsplit/mtdsplit_uimage.c b/target/linux/generic/files/drivers/mtd/mtdsplit/mtdsplit_uimage.c
index 29af19f544..fe824cbda6 100644
--- a/target/linux/generic/files/drivers/mtd/mtdsplit/mtdsplit_uimage.c
+++ b/target/linux/generic/files/drivers/mtd/mtdsplit/mtdsplit_uimage.c
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ static int __mtdsplit_parse_uimage(struct mtd_info *master,
 		if (ret) {
 			pr_debug("no rootfs before uImage in \"%s\"\n",
 				 master->name);
+			ret = -ENOENT;
 			goto err_free_buf;
 		}