diff --git a/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers.go b/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers.go
index 8f6dee5b0..ed2822ab1 100644
--- a/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers.go
+++ b/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers.go
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ func checkIfIpIsLive(ctx context.Context, ip string) error {
 	server, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", ip+":22")
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Error(err, "failed to resolve ip address")
+		return err
 	}
 	conn, err := net.DialTimeout(server.Network(), server.String(), 5*time.Second)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers_test.go b/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers_test.go
index c7d73d747..0cf43f636 100644
--- a/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers_test.go
+++ b/pkg/ibm/ibmz_helpers_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package ibm
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"regexp"
 
@@ -101,4 +102,17 @@ var _ = Describe("IBM s390x Helper Functions", func() {
 				"System Z Max Tag Length"),
 		)
 	})
+
+	Describe("The checkIfIpIsLive function", func() {
+		When("the DNS resolution of the host fails", func() {
+			It("should return an error instead of panicking", func() {
+				ctx := context.Background()
+				// "a b c" contains spaces, which are invalid in DNS names
+				// — this causes net.ResolveTCPAddr to fail immediately
+				// (0ms, pure local resolution) without any network call.
+				err := checkIfIpIsLive(ctx, "a b c")
+				Expect(err).Should(HaveOccurred())
+			})
+		})
+	})
 })