diff --git a/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_publisher.cpp b/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_publisher.cpp
index 7b7ab92eb..e50aef3df 100644
--- a/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_publisher.cpp
+++ b/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_publisher.cpp
@@ -168,6 +168,12 @@ rmw_create_publisher(
   rmw_publisher->implementation_identifier = eprosima_fastrtps_identifier;
   rmw_publisher->data = info;
   rmw_publisher->topic_name = reinterpret_cast<char *>(rmw_allocate(strlen(topic_name) + 1));
+
+  if (!rmw_publisher->topic_name) {
+    RMW_SET_ERROR_MSG("failed to allocate memory for publisher topic name");
+    goto fail;
+  }
+
   memcpy(const_cast<char *>(rmw_publisher->topic_name), topic_name, strlen(topic_name) + 1);
   return rmw_publisher;
 
diff --git a/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_subscription.cpp b/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_subscription.cpp
index 28b9c54a6..7c222865c 100644
--- a/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_subscription.cpp
+++ b/rmw_fastrtps_cpp/src/rmw_subscription.cpp
@@ -150,6 +150,12 @@ rmw_create_subscription(
   rmw_subscription->data = info;
   rmw_subscription->topic_name =
     reinterpret_cast<const char *>(rmw_allocate(strlen(topic_name) + 1));
+
+  if (!rmw_subscription->topic_name) {
+    RMW_SET_ERROR_MSG("failed to allocate memory for subscription topic name");
+    goto fail;
+  }
+
   memcpy(const_cast<char *>(rmw_subscription->topic_name), topic_name, strlen(topic_name) + 1);
   return rmw_subscription;