diff --git a/contrib/dockerd-rootless.sh b/contrib/dockerd-rootless.sh
index f50f67f92e..16ab38ba4d 100755
--- a/contrib/dockerd-rootless.sh
+++ b/contrib/dockerd-rootless.sh
@@ -130,6 +130,10 @@ if [ -z "$net" ]; then
 		echo "One of slirp4netns (>= v0.4.0), pasta (passt >= 2023_12_04), or vpnkit needs to be installed"
 	fi
 fi
+if [ "$net" = host ]; then
+	echo "Unsupported RootlessKit network driver: $net"
+	exit 1
+fi
 if [ -z "$mtu" ]; then
 	if [ "$net" = slirp4netns -o "$net" = pasta ]; then
 		mtu=65520