diff --git a/camera/metadata/src/metadata_utils.cpp b/camera/metadata/src/metadata_utils.cpp
index d71a43185c46c95792ce35877b7ec30e25aab41b..fa27c5ab78b7226e8ba7deeeb8a9cf24b3ca1f25 100644
--- a/camera/metadata/src/metadata_utils.cpp
+++ b/camera/metadata/src/metadata_utils.cpp
@@ -413,7 +413,9 @@ std::string MetadataUtils::EncodeToString(std::shared_ptr<CameraMetadata> metada
         METADATA_ERR_LOG("MetadataUtils::EncodeToString Metadata is invalid");
         return {};
     }
-
+    if (encodeDataLen < headerLength) {
+        return {};
+    }
     common_metadata_header_t *meta = metadata->get();
     int32_t encodeDataLen = headerLength + (itemLen * meta->item_count) + meta->data_count;
     std::string s(encodeDataLen, '\0');