diff --git a/tools/run-nm-test.sh b/tools/run-nm-test.sh
index 21f0d7c15..16d9d8a7a 100755
--- a/tools/run-nm-test.sh
+++ b/tools/run-nm-test.sh
@@ -232,6 +232,7 @@ if ! _is_true "$NMTST_USE_VALGRIND" 0; then
     export NM_TEST_UNDER_VALGRIND=0
     exec "${NMTST_DBUS_RUN_SESSION[@]}" \
     "$TEST" "$@"
+    die "exec \"$TEST\" failed"
 fi
 
 if [[ -z "${NMTST_VALGRIND}" ]]; then