diff --git a/libnetutil/netutil.cc b/libnetutil/netutil.cc
index e32132302..3ffc34906 100644
--- a/libnetutil/netutil.cc
+++ b/libnetutil/netutil.cc
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@
 /** Print fatal error messages to stderr and then exits. A newline
     character is printed automatically after the supplied text.
  * @warning This function does not return because it calls exit() */
-int netutil_fatal(const char *str, ...){
+void netutil_fatal(const char *str, ...){
  va_list  list;
  char errstr[NBASE_MAX_ERR_STR_LEN];
  memset(errstr,0, NBASE_MAX_ERR_STR_LEN);
diff --git a/libnetutil/netutil.h b/libnetutil/netutil.h
index 0a3202d3e..08f1e76b4 100644
--- a/libnetutil/netutil.h
+++ b/libnetutil/netutil.h
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ enum { OP_FAILURE = -1, OP_SUCCESS = 0 };
 #define IPPROTO_SCTP 132
 #endif
 
-int netutil_fatal(const char *str, ...)
+void netutil_fatal(const char *str, ...)
      __attribute__ ((noreturn))
      __attribute__ ((format (printf, 1, 2)));