diff --git a/lib/libwebsockets.c b/lib/libwebsockets.c
index d3eb9c12..475162b7 100644
--- a/lib/libwebsockets.c
+++ b/lib/libwebsockets.c
@@ -2164,8 +2164,13 @@ libwebsocket_create_context(struct lws_context_creation_info *info)
 		if (info->iface == NULL)
 			serv_addr.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY;
 		else
-			interface_to_sa(info->iface, &serv_addr,
-						sizeof(serv_addr));
+			if (interface_to_sa(info->iface, &serv_addr,
+						sizeof(serv_addr)) < 0) {
+				lwsl_err("Unable to find interface %s\n",
+							info->iface);
+				compatible_close(sockfd);
+				goto bail;
+			}
 		serv_addr.sin_port = htons(info->port);
 
 		n = bind(sockfd, (struct sockaddr *) &serv_addr,
diff --git a/lib/server.c b/lib/server.c
index 44145cb5..bc8b497f 100644
--- a/lib/server.c
+++ b/lib/server.c
@@ -63,11 +63,12 @@ interface_to_sa(const char *ifname, struct sockaddr_in *addr, size_t addrlen)
 	struct sockaddr_in *sin;
 
 	getifaddrs(&ifr);
-	for (ifc = ifr; ifc != NULL; ifc = ifc->ifa_next) {
-		if (strcmp(ifc->ifa_name, ifname))
-			continue;
+	for (ifc = ifr; ifc != NULL && rc; ifc = ifc->ifa_next) {
 		if (ifc->ifa_addr == NULL)
 			continue;
+		lwsl_info(" interface %s vs %s\n", ifc->ifa_name, ifname);
+		if (strcmp(ifc->ifa_name, ifname))
+			continue;
 		sin = (struct sockaddr_in *)ifc->ifa_addr;
 		if (sin->sin_family != AF_INET)
 			continue;