diff --git a/includes/common.php b/includes/common.php
index 82cf25e1ad..747316f795 100644
--- a/includes/common.php
+++ b/includes/common.php
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ function external_exec($command)
     $exec_response['error'] = stream_get_contents($pipes[2]);
     if ($exec_response['error'])
     {
-      $output = $exec_response['error'];
+      $output = FALSE;
     } else {
       $output = stream_get_contents($pipes[1]);
     }