diff --git a/src/detection/uptime/uptime_linux.c b/src/detection/uptime/uptime_linux.c
index 958a47fe7..7c0a46161 100644
--- a/src/detection/uptime/uptime_linux.c
+++ b/src/detection/uptime/uptime_linux.c
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ const char* ffDetectUptime(FFUptimeResult* result)
     double sec;
     if (fscanf(uptime, "%lf", &sec) > 0)
         result->uptime = (uint64_t) (sec * 1000);
+    else
+        return "fscanf(\"%lf\", &sec) failed";
 
     result->bootTime = ffTimeGetNow() + result->uptime;