diff --git a/lib/dns/rbtdb.c b/lib/dns/rbtdb.c
index 64bd7a93bf..b64350c62d 100644
--- a/lib/dns/rbtdb.c
+++ b/lib/dns/rbtdb.c
@@ -4494,6 +4494,7 @@ check_stale_header(dns_rbtnode_t *node, rdatasetheader_t *header,
 		 */
 		if (KEEPSTALE(search->rbtdb) && stale > search->now) {
 			header->attributes |= RDATASET_ATTR_STALE;
+			*header_prev = header;
 			return ((search->options & DNS_DBFIND_STALEOK) == 0);
 		}