diff --git a/src/utils/ddb/ddb_vos.c b/src/utils/ddb/ddb_vos.c
index 3101d25aa14..5e8458cbd7c 100644
--- a/src/utils/ddb/ddb_vos.c
+++ b/src/utils/ddb/ddb_vos.c
@@ -2151,7 +2151,8 @@ dv_run_prov_mem(const char *db_path, const char *tmpfs_mount, unsigned int tmpfs
 
 	md_on_ssd = bio_nvme_configured(SMD_DEV_TYPE_META);
 	if (!md_on_ssd) {
-		D_ERROR("Not in MD-on-SSD mode; skipping memory environment provisioning.");
+		D_ERROR("Provided db_path is not configured in MD-on-SSD mode.");
+		rc = -DER_INVAL;
 		goto out;
 	}