diff --git a/cJSON.c b/cJSON.c
index cac1164b..483d0c0c 100644
--- a/cJSON.c
+++ b/cJSON.c
@@ -2204,7 +2204,7 @@ CJSON_PUBLIC(cJSON*) cJSON_AddArrayToObject(cJSON * const object, const char * c
 
 CJSON_PUBLIC(cJSON *) cJSON_DetachItemViaPointer(cJSON *parent, cJSON * const item)
 {
-    if ((parent == NULL) || (item == NULL))
+    if ((parent == NULL) || (parent->child == NULL) || (item == NULL) || (item->prev == NULL))
     {
         return NULL;
     }