diff --git a/pdf.c b/pdf.c
index a0511d4601aee6f0baedee9867d76142311bac2b..fc3a32fa3d0c4edd89d8e054da92cbd0c403a066 100644
--- a/pdf.c
+++ b/pdf.c
@@ -5570,10 +5570,6 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	/* parse all cross-reference sections and trailer dictionaries */
 	parse_xrefs(&aux);
 
-	// XXX remove this! the parser should work without xrefs.
-	if ((aux.nxrefs == 0) || (aux.xrefs == NULL))
-		return 1;
-
 	/* run the main parser */
 	res = h_parse(p_pdf, input, sz);
 	if (!res) {