diff --git a/lib/bcoin/protocol/parser.js b/lib/bcoin/protocol/parser.js
index 8cbafe88..f677ad8c 100644
--- a/lib/bcoin/protocol/parser.js
+++ b/lib/bcoin/protocol/parser.js
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ Parser.prototype.feed = function feed(data) {
 
 Parser.prototype.parse = function parse(chunk) {
   if (this.packet === null) {
-    this.packet = this.parseHeader(chunk);
+    this.packet = this.parseHeader(chunk) || {};
   } else {
     this.packet.payload = chunk;
     if (readU32(utils.checksum(this.packet.payload)) !== this.packet.checksum)