diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 1833ce6f9ca..3d3e304b648 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ PHP                                                                        NEWS
   . Fixed bug GH-20668 (\Uri\WhatWg\Url::withHost() crashes (SEGV) for URLs
     using the file: scheme). (lexborisov)
 
+- Standard:
+  . Fix error check for proc_open() command. (ndossche)
+
 18 Dec 2025, PHP 8.5.1
 
 - Core:
diff --git a/ext/standard/proc_open.c b/ext/standard/proc_open.c
index 690e23e0d35..d489696dd48 100644
--- a/ext/standard/proc_open.c
+++ b/ext/standard/proc_open.c
@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ typedef struct _descriptorspec_item {
 } descriptorspec_item;
 
 static zend_string *get_valid_arg_string(zval *zv, uint32_t elem_num) {
-	zend_string *str = zval_get_string(zv);
+	zend_string *str = zval_try_get_string(zv);
 	if (!str) {
 		return NULL;
 	}