diff --git a/wolfcrypt/src/evp.c b/wolfcrypt/src/evp.c
index 8add13fad..42949fc43 100644
--- a/wolfcrypt/src/evp.c
+++ b/wolfcrypt/src/evp.c
@@ -3283,6 +3283,8 @@ int wolfSSL_EVP_PKEY_bits(const WOLFSSL_EVP_PKEY *pkey)
     if (pkey == NULL) return 0;
     WOLFSSL_ENTER("wolfSSL_EVP_PKEY_bits");
     if ((bytes = wolfSSL_EVP_PKEY_size((WOLFSSL_EVP_PKEY*)pkey)) ==0) return 0;
+    if (bytes < 0)
+        return 0;
     return bytes*8;
 }