diff --git a/qemu-nbd.c b/qemu-nbd.c
index ba60436..626e584 100644
--- a/qemu-nbd.c
+++ b/qemu-nbd.c
@@ -372,6 +372,7 @@
     if (nbd_client_new(exp, fd, nbd_client_closed)) {
         nb_fds++;
     } else {
+        shutdown(fd, 2);
         close(fd);
     }
 }