diff --git a/http-backend.c b/http-backend.c
index 8c7b7d09ea..af6a7567db 100644
--- a/http-backend.c
+++ b/http-backend.c
@@ -538,12 +538,17 @@ static void service_rpc(char *service_name)
 
 static NORETURN void die_webcgi(const char *err, va_list params)
 {
-	http_status(500, "Internal Server Error");
-	hdr_nocache();
-	end_headers();
+	static int dead;
 
-	vreportf("fatal: ", err, params);
-	exit(0);
+	if (!dead) {
+		dead = 1;
+		http_status(500, "Internal Server Error");
+		hdr_nocache();
+		end_headers();
+
+		vreportf("fatal: ", err, params);
+	}
+	exit(0); /* we successfully reported a failure ;-) */
 }
 
 static char* getdir(void)