diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 1e13f63483a..241eafa3c00 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ Core and Builtins
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #25203: Failed readline.set_completer_delims() no longer left the
+  module in inconsistent state.
+
 - Issue #23329: Allow the ssl module to be built with older versions of
   LibreSSL.
 
diff --git a/Modules/readline.c b/Modules/readline.c
index f6b52a07412..675b7228046 100644
--- a/Modules/readline.c
+++ b/Modules/readline.c
@@ -464,10 +464,11 @@ set_completer_delims(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
     /* Keep a reference to the allocated memory in the module state in case
        some other module modifies rl_completer_word_break_characters
        (see issue #17289). */
-    free(completer_word_break_characters);
-    completer_word_break_characters = strdup(break_chars);
-    if (completer_word_break_characters) {
-        rl_completer_word_break_characters = completer_word_break_characters;
+    break_chars = strdup(break_chars);
+    if (break_chars) {
+        free(completer_word_break_characters);
+        completer_word_break_characters = break_chars;
+        rl_completer_word_break_characters = break_chars;
         Py_RETURN_NONE;
     }
     else