diff --git a/src/ssb.c b/src/ssb.c
index 206cdfa7..2d892752 100644
--- a/src/ssb.c
+++ b/src/ssb.c
@@ -2719,7 +2719,8 @@ static void _tf_ssb_connection_finalizer(JSRuntime* runtime, JSValue value)
 static void _tf_ssb_connection_process_message_async(uv_async_t* async)
 {
 	tf_ssb_connection_t* connection = async->data;
-	if (!connection->is_closing && _tf_ssb_connection_box_stream_recv(connection))
+	/* The receive may initiate a close, so this order is important. */
+	if (_tf_ssb_connection_box_stream_recv(connection) && !connection->is_closing)
 	{
 		uv_async_send(&connection->async);
 	}