diff --git a/drivers/i2c/i2c-dev.c b/drivers/i2c/i2c-dev.c
index 6ceb11cc4be1..6ef38a8ee95c 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/i2c-dev.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/i2c-dev.c
@@ -440,8 +440,13 @@ static long i2cdev_ioctl(struct file *file, unsigned int cmd, unsigned long arg)
 				   sizeof(rdwr_arg)))
 			return -EFAULT;
 
-		/* Put an arbitrary limit on the number of messages that can
-		 * be sent at once */
+		if (!rdwr_arg.msgs || rdwr_arg.nmsgs == 0)
+			return -EINVAL;
+
+		/*
+		 * Put an arbitrary limit on the number of messages that can
+		 * be sent at once
+		 */
 		if (rdwr_arg.nmsgs > I2C_RDWR_IOCTL_MAX_MSGS)
 			return -EINVAL;