diff --git a/daemon/control_ng_flags_parser.c b/daemon/control_ng_flags_parser.c
index 539955958..1de521f59 100644
--- a/daemon/control_ng_flags_parser.c
+++ b/daemon/control_ng_flags_parser.c
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ static int rtpp_is_dict_list(rtpp_pos *a) {
 	if (!skip_char(&list, '['))
 		return 0;
 	// check contents
+	if (list.len == 0)
+		list = a->remainder; // could be just leading spaces?
 	if (list.len == 0)
 		return 0; // unexpected end of string
 	if (list.s[0] == '[')
diff --git a/t/auto-daemon-tests-rtpp-flags.pl b/t/auto-daemon-tests-rtpp-flags.pl
index f5841b6fe..3674f8dd2 100644
--- a/t/auto-daemon-tests-rtpp-flags.pl
+++ b/t/auto-daemon-tests-rtpp-flags.pl
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@
 a=quux
 ----------------------------------
 v=0
-o=- 1545997027 1 IN IP4 198.51.100.1
+o=- 1545997027 1 IN IP4 203.0.113.1
 s=tester
 t=0 0
 a=quux