diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 83b6847..8f901f7 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ function bufferizeInt(num) {
 function _crc32(buf, previous) {
   buf = ensureBuffer(buf);
   if (Buffer.isBuffer(previous)) {
-    previous = previous.readUInt32BE(0);
+    previous = previous.length >= 4 ? previous.readUInt32BE(0) : 0;
   }
   let crc = ~~previous ^ -1;
   for (var n = 0; n < buf.length; n++) {
diff --git a/tests/crc.test.js b/tests/crc.test.js
index 326f797..9864dc2 100644
--- a/tests/crc.test.js
+++ b/tests/crc.test.js
@@ -111,3 +111,10 @@ test('can do unsigned in append mode', function (t) {
   t.same(crc, expected);
   t.end();
 });
+
+test('no readUInt32BE on small previous buffer', function (t) {
+  var prev = Buffer.from([0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE]);
+  var expected = Buffer.from([0x35, 0x24, 0x41, 0xc2]);
+  t.same(crc32("abc", ), expected);
+  t.end();
+});