diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c b/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c
index 06a2954bc6..c125d294d1 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_libopencv.c
@@ -294,6 +294,8 @@ static av_cold void dilate_uninit(AVFilterContext *ctx)
     OCVContext *s = ctx->priv;
     DilateContext *dilate = s->priv;
 
+    if (!dilate)
+        return;
     cvReleaseStructuringElement(&dilate->kernel);
 }