diff --git a/includes/common.inc b/includes/common.inc
index 36a434691a1..a7f2674fc4f 100644
--- a/includes/common.inc
+++ b/includes/common.inc
@@ -427,6 +427,18 @@ function drupal_http_request($url, $headers = array(), $method = 'GET', $data =
   // Parse the URL, and make sure we can handle the schema.
   $uri = parse_url($url);
 
+  if ($uri == FALSE) {
+    $result->error = 'unable to parse URL';
+    $result->code = -1001;
+    return $result;
+  }
+
+  if (!isset($uri['scheme'])) {
+    $result->error = 'missing schema';
+    $result->code = -1002;
+    return $result;
+  }
+
   switch ($uri['scheme']) {
     case 'http':
       $port = isset($uri['port']) ? $uri['port'] : 80;
@@ -441,6 +453,7 @@ function drupal_http_request($url, $headers = array(), $method = 'GET', $data =
       break;
     default:
       $result->error = 'invalid schema '. $uri['scheme'];
+      $result->code = -1003;
       return $result;
   }