diff --git a/lib/graph/graph_stats.c b/lib/graph/graph_stats.c
index 30e295d8b1..aa70929dc3 100644
--- a/lib/graph/graph_stats.c
+++ b/lib/graph/graph_stats.c
@@ -119,8 +119,8 @@ stats_mem_init(struct cluster *cluster,
 	cluster_node_size = RTE_ALIGN(cluster_node_size, RTE_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
 
 	stats = realloc(NULL, sz);
-	memset(stats, 0, sz);
 	if (stats) {
+		memset(stats, 0, sz);
 		stats->fn = fn;
 		stats->cluster_node_size = cluster_node_size;
 		stats->max_nodes = 0;