diff --git a/libavformat/4xm.c b/libavformat/4xm.c
index b4dd3d4416..755a21168c 100644
--- a/libavformat/4xm.c
+++ b/libavformat/4xm.c
@@ -195,6 +195,11 @@ static int fourxm_read_header(AVFormatContext *s,
                 ret= -1;
                 goto fail;
             }
+            if(!fourxm->tracks[current_track].adpcm && fourxm->tracks[current_track].bits<8){
+                av_log(s, AV_LOG_ERROR, "bits unspecified for non ADPCM\n");
+                ret = AVERROR_INVALIDDATA;
+                goto fail;
+            }
             i += 8 + size;
 
             /* allocate a new AVStream */