diff --git a/libavcodec/pcx.c b/libavcodec/pcx.c
index 67bc839efb..d8b69b3b30 100644
--- a/libavcodec/pcx.c
+++ b/libavcodec/pcx.c
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ static int pcx_decode_frame(AVCodecContext *avctx, void *data, int *got_frame,
         }
         if (bytestream2_get_byte(&gb) != 12) {
             av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "expected palette after image data\n");
-            ret = AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
+            ret = avpkt->size;
             goto end;
         }
     } else if (nplanes == 1) {   /* all packed formats, max. 16 colors */