diff --git a/plinth/actions.py b/plinth/actions.py
index d045c4000..0e75fc0f4 100644
--- a/plinth/actions.py
+++ b/plinth/actions.py
@@ -88,6 +88,9 @@ def _read_from_server(client_socket: socket.socket) -> bytes:
 
         response += chunk
 
+    if not response:
+        raise ConnectionError('Server returned empty response')
+
     return json.loads(response)