diff --git a/scripts/mod/modpost.c b/scripts/mod/modpost.c
index a7b72a81d248..da90396788dd 100644
--- a/scripts/mod/modpost.c
+++ b/scripts/mod/modpost.c
@@ -1591,14 +1591,14 @@ static void read_symbols(const char *modname)
 	struct elf_info info = { };
 	Elf_Sym *sym;
 
-	if (!parse_elf(&info, modname))
-		return;
-
 	if (!strends(modname, ".o")) {
 		error("%s: filename must be suffixed with .o\n", modname);
 		return;
 	}
 
+	if (!parse_elf(&info, modname))
+		return;
+
 	/* strip trailing .o */
 	mod = new_module(modname, strlen(modname) - strlen(".o"));