diff --git a/rpcs3/Emu/RSX/Common/io_buffer.h b/rpcs3/Emu/RSX/Common/io_buffer.h
index 29397d1136..64f95a5e61 100644
--- a/rpcs3/Emu/RSX/Common/io_buffer.h
+++ b/rpcs3/Emu/RSX/Common/io_buffer.h
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ namespace rsx
 		std::span<T> as_span() const
 		{
 			auto bytes = data();
+			ensure((reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(bytes) & (sizeof(T) - 1)) == 0, "IO buffer span cast requires naturally aligned pointers.");
 			return { utils::bless<T>(bytes), m_size / sizeof(T) };
 		}