diff --git a/core/sql/executor/ExExeUtilCli.cpp b/core/sql/executor/ExExeUtilCli.cpp
index 058ea11..434e4dd 100644
--- a/core/sql/executor/ExExeUtilCli.cpp
+++ b/core/sql/executor/ExExeUtilCli.cpp
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@
   : numEntries_(numEntries)
 {
   
+   ex_assert( numEntries <= MAX_OUTPUT_ENTRIES, "try to fetch more than max columns allowed");
+
    for (Int32 i = 0; i < numEntries_; i++)
     {
       data_[i] = NULL;