diff --git a/lib/krb5/rd_safe.c b/lib/krb5/rd_safe.c
index 0ed46a35e..ecd8be696 100644
--- a/lib/krb5/rd_safe.c
+++ b/lib/krb5/rd_safe.c
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ krb5_rd_safe(krb5_context context,
     outbuf->data   = malloc(outbuf->length);
     if (outbuf->data == NULL && outbuf->length != 0) {
 	ret = ENOMEM;
-	krb5_set_error_string (context, "malloc: out of memory");
+	krb5_set_error_message(context, ret, "malloc: out of memory");
 	krb5_data_zero(outbuf);
 	goto failure;
     }