diff --git a/src/cluster.cpp b/src/cluster.cpp
index 6d6f2be2e..1ebaed262 100644
--- a/src/cluster.cpp
+++ b/src/cluster.cpp
@@ -2235,6 +2235,8 @@ void clusterWriteHandler(connection *conn) {
 void clusterLinkConnectHandler(connection *conn) {
     clusterLink *link = (clusterLink*)connGetPrivateData(conn);
     clusterNode *node = link->node;
+    if (node == nullptr)
+        return; // we're about to be freed
 
     /* Check if connection succeeded */
     if (connGetState(conn) != CONN_STATE_CONNECTED) {