--- a/src/sphere.c.old
+++ b/src/sphere.c
@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@ static int start_read(sox_format_t * ft)
/* Determine header size, and allocate a buffer large enough to hold it. */
sscanf(fldsval, "%lu", &header_size_ul);
+ if (header_size_ul < 16) {
+ lsx_fail_errno(ft, SOX_EHDR, "Error reading Sphere header");
+ return (SOX_EOF);
+ }
+
buf = lsx_malloc(header_size = header_size_ul);
/* Skip what we have read so far */