diff --git a/gateway/hostname.go b/gateway/hostname.go
index 782b5c4ad..082f82074 100644
--- a/gateway/hostname.go
+++ b/gateway/hostname.go
@@ -431,6 +431,8 @@ func toSubdomainURL(hostname, path string, r *http.Request, inlineDNSLink bool,
 				// update path prefix to use real FQDN with DNSLink
 				rootID = dnsLabel
 			}
+		} else if ns == "ipfs" {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid path %q: %w", path, err)
 		}
 	}