diff --git a/php/libraries/Database.class.inc b/php/libraries/Database.class.inc
index b5aaaf98d8d..22b79bfd024 100644
--- a/php/libraries/Database.class.inc
+++ b/php/libraries/Database.class.inc
@@ -635,6 +635,13 @@ class Database
         }
 
         $rows = $prepared->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
+        // The fetchAll function will return an empty set if no results are
+        // found and FALSE on "failure". We don't expect this case so an
+        // exception is thrown.
+        if (is_bool($rows) && $rows === false) {
+            $err = $prepared->errorInfo();
+            throw new DatabaseException($err[2], $prepared->queryString, $params);
+        }
         return $rows;
     }
     /**