diff --git a/net/netfilter/nft_socket.c b/net/netfilter/nft_socket.c
index e43c1939d25fbb05906026bad06e0f33c369850b..622ac2012a406c82a2703044a1a3002108455033 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/nft_socket.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/nft_socket.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ static void nft_socket_eval(const struct nft_expr *expr,
 		}
 
 	if (!sk) {
-		nft_reg_store8(dest, 0);
+		regs->verdict.code = NFT_BREAK;
 		return;
 	}