diff --git a/src/guacenc/encode.c b/src/guacenc/encode.c
index 854c5c60..2d74a9b6 100644
--- a/src/guacenc/encode.c
+++ b/src/guacenc/encode.c
@@ -63,8 +63,11 @@ static int guacenc_read_instructions(guacenc_display* display,
 
     /* Continuously read and handle all instructions */
     while (!guac_parser_read(parser, socket, -1)) {
-        guacenc_handle_instruction(display, parser->opcode,
-                parser->argc, parser->argv);
+        if (guacenc_handle_instruction(display, parser->opcode,
+                parser->argc, parser->argv)) {
+            guac_parser_free(parser);
+            return 1;
+        }
     }
 
     /* Fail on read/parse error */