diff --git a/src/libcamera/ipa_manager.cpp b/src/libcamera/ipa_manager.cpp
index ec9660456960..2f96a2072fd6 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/ipa_manager.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/ipa_manager.cpp
@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ IPAManager::IPAManager()
 		LOG(IPAManager, Fatal)
 			<< "Multiple IPAManager objects are not allowed";
 
+	if (!pubKey_.isValid())
+		LOG(IPAManager, Warning) << "Public key not valid";
+
 	unsigned int ipaCount = 0;
 
 	/* User-specified paths take precedence. */
diff --git a/src/libcamera/pub_key.cpp b/src/libcamera/pub_key.cpp
index 9bb08fda34af..b2045a103bc0 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/pub_key.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/pub_key.cpp
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ PubKey::~PubKey()
 bool PubKey::verify([[maybe_unused]] Span<const uint8_t> data,
 		    [[maybe_unused]] Span<const uint8_t> sig) const
 {
+	if (!valid_)
+		return false;
+
 #if HAVE_GNUTLS
 	const gnutls_datum_t gnuTlsData{
 		const_cast<unsigned char *>(data.data()),