diff --git a/src/common.h b/src/common.h
index 3152669df..3f9dedd91 100644
--- a/src/common.h
+++ b/src/common.h
@@ -70,10 +70,11 @@ int giterr_set_regex(const regex_t *regex, int error_code);
  */
 GIT_INLINE(bool) giterr__check_version(const void *structure, unsigned int expected_max, const char *name)
 {
+	unsigned int actual = *(const unsigned int*)structure;
+
 	if (!structure)
 		return true;
 
-	unsigned int actual = *(const unsigned int*)structure;
 	if (actual > 0 && actual <= expected_max)
 		return true;