diff --git a/nselib/dns.lua b/nselib/dns.lua
index d404695da..36e71794c 100644
--- a/nselib/dns.lua
+++ b/nselib/dns.lua
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ function decStr(data, pos)
       local part
 
       -- Avoid infinite recursion on malformed compressed messages.
-      limit = limit or 3
+      limit = limit or 10
       if limit < 0 then
          return pos, nil
       end
diff --git a/scripts/dns-zone-transfer.nse b/scripts/dns-zone-transfer.nse
index 8557d44d0..5a798e1f3 100644
--- a/scripts/dns-zone-transfer.nse
+++ b/scripts/dns-zone-transfer.nse
@@ -123,7 +123,9 @@ end
 --@param data String of data.
 --@param offset Offset in the string to read the domain name.
 function parse_domain(data, offset)
-	return dns.decStr(data, offset)
+	local offset, domain = dns.decStr(data, offset)
+	domain = domain or "<parse error>"
+	return offset, domain
 end 
 
 --- Build RFC 1035 root domain name from the name of the DNS server