diff --git a/scripts/basic/docproc.c b/scripts/basic/docproc.c
index cb02baa63256..4ab6cbf09225 100644
--- a/scripts/basic/docproc.c
+++ b/scripts/basic/docproc.c
@@ -177,6 +177,7 @@ void find_export_symbols(char * filename)
 		{
 			fprintf(stderr, "docproc: ");
 			perror(real_filename);
+			exit(1);
 		}
 		while(fgets(line, MAXLINESZ, fp)) {
 			char *p;