diff --git a/src/encoding/hex/hex.go b/src/encoding/hex/hex.go
index 375f583170..5a8243ae80 100644
--- a/src/encoding/hex/hex.go
+++ b/src/encoding/hex/hex.go
@@ -75,6 +75,9 @@ func DecodedLen(x int) int { return x / 2 }
 // If the input is malformed, Decode returns the number
 // of bytes decoded before the error.
 func Decode(dst, src []byte) (int, error) {
+	if len(dst) < DecodedLen(len(src)) {
+		return 0, errors.New("encoding/hex: output buffer too small")
+	}
 	i, j := 0, 1
 	for ; j < len(src); j += 2 {
 		p := src[j-1]
diff --git a/src/encoding/hex/hex_test.go b/src/encoding/hex/hex_test.go
index a820fe7a15..1eb169cdee 100644
--- a/src/encoding/hex/hex_test.go
+++ b/src/encoding/hex/hex_test.go
@@ -55,6 +55,15 @@ func TestDecode(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestDecode_tooFewDstBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	dst := make([]byte, 1)
+	src := []byte{'0', '1', '2', '3'}
+	_, err := Decode(dst, src)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected Decode to return an error, but it returned none")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestEncodeToString(t *testing.T) {
 	for i, test := range encDecTests {
 		s := EncodeToString(test.dec)