diff --git a/Modules/_elementtree.c b/Modules/_elementtree.c
index 9789527c39a..c179e965da5 100644
--- a/Modules/_elementtree.c
+++ b/Modules/_elementtree.c
@@ -347,7 +347,8 @@ get_attrib_from_keywords(PyObject *kwds)
     Py_DECREF(attrib_str);
 
     if (attrib)
-        PyDict_Update(attrib, kwds);
+        if (PyDict_Update(attrib, kwds) < 0)
+            return NULL;
     return attrib;
 }