diff --git a/pkg/proxy/util/endpoints.go b/pkg/proxy/util/endpoints.go
index 0e8bdffc310..f48226a3155 100644
--- a/pkg/proxy/util/endpoints.go
+++ b/pkg/proxy/util/endpoints.go
@@ -39,8 +39,9 @@ func IPPart(s string) string {
 	}
 	// Check if host string is a valid IP address
 	if ip := net.ParseIP(host); ip != nil {
+		return ip.String()
+	} else {
 		glog.Errorf("invalid IP part '%s'", host)
-		return host
 	}
 	return ""
 }