diff --git a/sys/kern/kern_fail.c b/sys/kern/kern_fail.c
--- a/sys/kern/kern_fail.c
+++ b/sys/kern/kern_fail.c
@@ -479,11 +479,10 @@
 
 	/* Allocate the name and fill it in. */
 	name = fp_malloc(n + 1, M_WAITOK);
-	if (name != NULL) {
-		va_start(ap, fmt);
-		vsnprintf(name, n + 1, fmt, ap);
-		va_end(ap);
-	}
+	va_start(ap, fmt);
+	vsnprintf(name, n + 1, fmt, ap);
+	va_end(ap);
+
 	fp->fp_name = name;
 	fp->fp_location = "";
 	fp->fp_flags |= FAIL_POINT_DYNAMIC_NAME;