diff --git a/res/res_config_sqlite3.c b/res/res_config_sqlite3.c
index b5c70ec2da..f2a6b00dbb 100644
--- a/res/res_config_sqlite3.c
+++ b/res/res_config_sqlite3.c
@@ -1125,6 +1125,8 @@ static int parse_config(int reload)
 	if (config == CONFIG_STATUS_FILEMISSING || config == CONFIG_STATUS_FILEINVALID) {
 		ast_log(LOG_ERROR, "%s config file '%s'\n",
 			config == CONFIG_STATUS_FILEMISSING ? "Missing" : "Invalid", config_filename);
+		ast_mutex_unlock(&config_lock);
+		return 0;
 	} else {
 		const char *cat;
 		struct realtime_sqlite3_db *db;