diff --git a/src/libnm-core-impl/tests/test-general.c b/src/libnm-core-impl/tests/test-general.c
index 75146fcc60..c911f0ec2c 100644
--- a/src/libnm-core-impl/tests/test-general.c
+++ b/src/libnm-core-impl/tests/test-general.c
@@ -9102,6 +9102,7 @@ _do_test_utils_str_utf8safe_unescape(const char *str, const char *expected, gsiz
         /* there are no embedded NULs. Check that nm_utils_str_utf8safe_unescape() yields the same result. */
         s = nm_utils_str_utf8safe_unescape(str, NM_UTILS_STR_UTF8_SAFE_FLAG_NONE, &str_free_1);
         g_assert_cmpstr(s, ==, expected);
+        g_assert(str);
         if (strchr(str, '\\')) {
             g_assert(str_free_1 != str);
             g_assert(s == str_free_1);