diff --git a/lib/ckpt.c b/lib/ckpt.c
index 883a3894..c87fe6a4 100644
--- a/lib/ckpt.c
+++ b/lib/ckpt.c
@@ -504,6 +504,10 @@ saCkptCheckpointOpen (
 		return (SA_AIS_ERR_INVALID_PARAM);
 	}
 
+	if (checkpointOpenFlags & ~(SA_CKPT_CHECKPOINT_READ|SA_CKPT_CHECKPOINT_WRITE|SA_CKPT_CHECKPOINT_CREATE)) {
+		return (SA_AIS_ERR_BAD_FLAGS);
+	}
+
 	error = saHandleInstanceGet (&ckptHandleDatabase, ckptHandle,
 		(void *)&ckptInstance);
 	if (error != SA_AIS_OK) {