diff --git a/ext/sqlite3/sqlite3.c b/ext/sqlite3/sqlite3.c
index 8b69eca42061..d257703f17ac 100644
--- a/ext/sqlite3/sqlite3.c
+++ b/ext/sqlite3/sqlite3.c
@@ -478,6 +478,9 @@ PHP_METHOD(SQLite3, escapeString)
 		if (ret) {
 			RETVAL_STRING(ret);
 			sqlite3_free(ret);
+		} else {
+			zend_throw_exception_ex(php_sqlite3_exception_ce, 0, "Unable to escape string");
+			RETURN_THROWS();
 		}
 	} else {
 		RETURN_EMPTY_STRING();