diff --git a/cmd/common.go b/cmd/common.go
index 1e354498b5249e5a5fb55318037deb2b51bb749a..33ded8970c49cd20aecfc78f9cd61eb553772bf5 100644
--- a/cmd/common.go
+++ b/cmd/common.go
@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@ func runChecks(t check.NodeType) {
 	if jsonFmt {
 		out, err := controls.JSON()
 		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "failed to output in JSON format: %v\n", err)
+			os.Exit(1)
 		}
 
 		fmt.Println(string(out))