diff --git a/ext/standard/string.c b/ext/standard/string.c
index 2daac404af9..52274dc2481 100644
--- a/ext/standard/string.c
+++ b/ext/standard/string.c
@@ -2768,7 +2768,7 @@ PHPAPI void php_strip_tags(char *rbuf, int len, int state, char *allow, int allo
 						lc = '(';
 						br++;
 					}
-				} else if (state == 1) {
+				} else if (allow && state == 1) {
 					*(tp++) = c;
 				} else if (state == 0) {
 					*(rp++) = c;
@@ -2781,7 +2781,7 @@ PHPAPI void php_strip_tags(char *rbuf, int len, int state, char *allow, int allo
 						lc = ')';
 						br--;
 					}
-				} else if (state == 1) {
+				} else if (allow && state == 1) {
 					*(tp++) = c;
 				} else if (state == 0) {
 					*(rp++) = c;