diff --git a/main/channel.c b/main/channel.c
index 61a5a36088..dfd1062aca 100644
--- a/main/channel.c
+++ b/main/channel.c
@@ -2513,6 +2513,17 @@ static struct ast_frame *__ast_read(struct ast_channel *chan, int dropaudio)
 		ast_frame_dump(chan->name, f, "<<");
 	chan->fin = FRAMECOUNT_INC(chan->fin);
 
+	if (f && f->datalen == 0 && f->data) {
+		/* fix invalid pointer */
+		f->data = NULL;
+#ifdef AST_DEVMODE
+		ast_log(LOG_ERROR, "Found frame with src '%s' with datalen zero, but non-null data pointer!\n", f->src);
+		ast_frame_dump(chan->name, f, "<<");
+#else
+		ast_debug(3, "Found frame with src '%s' on channel '%s' with datalen zero, but non-null data pointer!\n", f->src, chan->name);
+#endif
+	}
+
 done:
 	ast_channel_unlock(chan);
 	return f;