diff --git a/plugins/elements/gstdownloadbuffer.c b/plugins/elements/gstdownloadbuffer.c
index 4dc96f1131..b9d512b67f 100644
--- a/plugins/elements/gstdownloadbuffer.c
+++ b/plugins/elements/gstdownloadbuffer.c
@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@ read_error:
     gst_buffer_unmap (buf, &info);
     if (*buffer == NULL)
       gst_buffer_unref (buf);
-    return ret;
+    return GST_FLOW_ERROR;
   }
 }