diff --git a/src/cluster.c b/src/cluster.c
index e22222700..a2615fdc0 100644
--- a/src/cluster.c
+++ b/src/cluster.c
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ int clusterLoadConfig(char *filename) {
         /* Handle the special "vars" line. Don't pretend it is the last
          * line even if it actually is when generated by Redis. */
         if (strcasecmp(argv[0],"vars") == 0) {
+            if (!(argc % 2)) goto fmterr;
             for (j = 1; j < argc; j += 2) {
                 if (strcasecmp(argv[j],"currentEpoch") == 0) {
                     server.cluster->currentEpoch =