diff --git a/pngrutil.c b/pngrutil.c
index a825f148c..2694fa72a 100644
--- a/pngrutil.c
+++ b/pngrutil.c
@@ -301,7 +301,6 @@ png_read_buffer(png_structrp png_ptr, png_alloc_size_t new_size, int warn)
 
    if (buffer != NULL && new_size > png_ptr->read_buffer_size)
    {
-      png_ptr->read_buffer = NULL;
       png_ptr->read_buffer = NULL;
       png_ptr->read_buffer_size = 0;
       png_free(png_ptr, buffer);