diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index e7fdf2154..9bda29812 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 ver 0.22.5 (not yet released)
+* protocol
+  - error for malformed ranges instead of ignoring silently
 * database
   - simple: fix missing CUE sheet metadata in "addid" command
 * tags
diff --git a/src/protocol/ArgParser.cxx b/src/protocol/ArgParser.cxx
index 2cfac9b33..b5d05b473 100644
--- a/src/protocol/ArgParser.cxx
+++ b/src/protocol/ArgParser.cxx
@@ -110,6 +110,10 @@ ParseCommandArgRange(const char *s)
 		return RangeArg::Single(range.start);
 	}
 
+	if (!range.IsWellFormed())
+		throw FormatProtocolError(ACK_ERROR_ARG,
+					  "Malformed range: %s", s);
+
 	return range;
 }