diff --git a/libs/hwui/renderthread/CanvasContext.cpp b/libs/hwui/renderthread/CanvasContext.cpp
index f690783..bbbb0ca 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/renderthread/CanvasContext.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/renderthread/CanvasContext.cpp
@@ -1031,6 +1031,7 @@
 
     if (dirty->isEmpty()) {
         dirty->setIWH(frame.width(), frame.height());
+        return *dirty;
     }
 
     // At this point dirty is the area of the window to update. However,