diff --git a/common/cmd_nvedit.c b/common/cmd_nvedit.c
index d646d90880..3a05e60103 100644
--- a/common/cmd_nvedit.c
+++ b/common/cmd_nvedit.c
@@ -552,7 +552,8 @@ static int do_env_edit(cmd_tbl_t *cmdtp, int flag, int argc,
 	else
 		buffer[0] = '\0';
 
-	readline_into_buffer("edit: ", buffer, 0);
+	if (readline_into_buffer("edit: ", buffer, 0) < 0)
+		return 1;
 
 	return setenv(argv[1], buffer);
 }