diff --git a/include/ircd/buffer/unique_buffer.h b/include/ircd/buffer/unique_buffer.h
index 89f48d929..8e9027b2e 100644
--- a/include/ircd/buffer/unique_buffer.h
+++ b/include/ircd/buffer/unique_buffer.h
@@ -110,9 +110,12 @@ ircd::buffer::aligned_alloc(const size_t &align,
 		align?: align_default
 	};
 
-	int errc;
+	assert(alignment % 2UL == 0);
+	assert(alignment % sizeof(void *) == 0);
+	assert(size % alignment == 0);
+
 	void *ret;
-	switch((errc = ::posix_memalign(&ret, alignment, size)))
+	switch(int errc(::posix_memalign(&ret, alignment, size)); errc)
 	{
 		case 0:
 			break;
@@ -127,6 +130,9 @@ ircd::buffer::aligned_alloc(const size_t &align,
 			};
 	}
 
+	assert(ret != nullptr);
+	assert(uintptr_t(ret) % alignment == 0);
+
 	return std::unique_ptr<char, decltype(&std::free)>
 	{
 		reinterpret_cast<char *>(ret), &std::free