diff --git a/src/rfc1035.c b/src/rfc1035.c
index a8cdc6e..79af53f 100644
--- a/src/rfc1035.c
+++ b/src/rfc1035.c
@@ -1359,6 +1359,8 @@ size_t answer_request(struct dns_header *header, char *limit, size_t qlen,
 		}
 
 	    }
+	  else
+	    return 0; /* give up if any cached CNAME in chain can't be used for DNSSEC reasons. */
 
 	  strcpy(name, cname_target);
 	}