diff --git a/lib/net.js b/lib/net.js
index 3acaf8a130b..4ebc940c3c3 100644
--- a/lib/net.js
+++ b/lib/net.js
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ Socket.prototype._write = function(data, encoding, cb) {
   // `encoding` is unused right now, `data` is always a buffer.
   var writeReq = this._handle.write(data);
 
-  if (!writeReq) {
+  if (!writeReq || typeof writeReq !== 'object') {
     this._destroy(errnoException(errno, 'write'), cb);
     return false;
   }