diff --git a/src/common.rs b/src/common.rs
index 078ee6ba..b8da951c 100644
--- a/src/common.rs
+++ b/src/common.rs
@@ -120,6 +120,9 @@ pub fn gen_sk(wait: u64) -> (String, Option<sign::SecretKey>) {
                 let pk = base64::encode(&tmp[sign::SECRETKEYBYTES / 2..]);
                 log::info!("Private key comes from {}", sk_file);
                 return (pk, Some(sign::SecretKey(tmp)));
+            } else {
+                log::error!("Malformed private key. You probably have a trailing newline in the secret key file.");
+                std::process::exit(1);
             }
         }
     } else {
diff --git a/src/rendezvous_server.rs b/src/rendezvous_server.rs
index c1f64244..0c0d1075 100644
--- a/src/rendezvous_server.rs
+++ b/src/rendezvous_server.rs
@@ -1174,9 +1174,6 @@ impl RendezvousServer {
                 let mut tmp = [0u8; sign::SECRETKEYBYTES];
                 tmp[..].copy_from_slice(&sk);
                 out_sk = Some(sign::SecretKey(tmp));
-            } else {
-                log::error!("Malformed private key. You probably have a trailing newline in the secret key file.");
-                std::process::exit(1);
             }
         }