diff --git a/src/whisper.cpp b/src/whisper.cpp
index 2c535cfd..1fcb670e 100644
--- a/src/whisper.cpp
+++ b/src/whisper.cpp
@@ -1355,7 +1355,11 @@ static std::vector<ggml_backend_t> whisper_backend_init(const whisper_context_pa
 
     GGML_UNUSED(params);
 
-    result.push_back(ggml_backend_init_by_type(GGML_BACKEND_DEVICE_TYPE_CPU, nullptr));
+    ggml_backend_t backend_cpu = ggml_backend_init_by_type(GGML_BACKEND_DEVICE_TYPE_CPU, nullptr);
+    if (backend_cpu == nullptr) {
+        throw std::runtime_error("failed to initialize CPU backend");
+    }
+    result.push_back(backend_cpu);
 
     return result;
 }