diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core and Builtins/2026-01-23-20-20-42.gh-issue-144194.IbXfxd.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core and Builtins/2026-01-23-20-20-42.gh-issue-144194.IbXfxd.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..1f33284439c041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core and Builtins/2026-01-23-20-20-42.gh-issue-144194.IbXfxd.rst	
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix error handling in perf jitdump initialization on memory allocation failure.
diff --git a/Python/perf_jit_trampoline.c b/Python/perf_jit_trampoline.c
index 3a63dd73bc47cc..b03da66e92e825 100644
--- a/Python/perf_jit_trampoline.c
+++ b/Python/perf_jit_trampoline.c
@@ -1053,7 +1053,8 @@ static void* perf_map_jit_init(void) {
         0                        // Offset 0 (first page)
     );
 
-    if (perf_jit_map_state.mapped_buffer == NULL) {
+    if (perf_jit_map_state.mapped_buffer == MAP_FAILED) {
+        perf_jit_map_state.mapped_buffer = NULL;
         close(fd);
         return NULL;  // Memory mapping failed
     }