diff --git a/code/AssetLib/MDL/MDLLoader.cpp b/code/AssetLib/MDL/MDLLoader.cpp
index 1c55df8d4..3bf3566f9 100644
--- a/code/AssetLib/MDL/MDLLoader.cpp
+++ b/code/AssetLib/MDL/MDLLoader.cpp
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 #include "MDLLoader.h"
 #include "AssetLib/MD2/MD2FileData.h"
 #include "HalfLife/HL1MDLLoader.h"
+#include "HalfLife/HL1FileData.h"
 #include "MDLDefaultColorMap.h"
 
 #include <assimp/StringUtils.h>
@@ -1980,6 +1981,11 @@ void MDLImporter::InternReadFile_HL1(const std::string &pFile, const uint32_t iM
     if (iMagicWord == AI_MDL_MAGIC_NUMBER_BE_HL2b || iMagicWord == AI_MDL_MAGIC_NUMBER_LE_HL2b)
         throw DeadlyImportError("Impossible to properly load a model from an MDL sequence file.");
 
+    // Check if the buffer is large enough to hold the header
+    if (iFileSize < sizeof(HalfLife::Header_HL1)) {
+        throw DeadlyImportError("HL1 MDL file is too small to contain header.");
+    }
+
     // Read the MDL file.
     HalfLife::HL1MDLLoader loader(
             pScene,