diff --git a/tests/fate-run.sh b/tests/fate-run.sh
index 7dce9b030e..278e2479bc 100755
--- a/tests/fate-run.sh
+++ b/tests/fate-run.sh
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ oneoff(){
 
 mkdir -p "$outdir"
 
-eval $target_exec $command > "$outfile" 2>/dev/null
+eval $target_exec $command > "$outfile" 2>/dev/null || exit
 
 case $cmp in
     diff)   diff -u -w "$ref" "$outfile"            ;;