diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index 18085c7e38..d997c55e33 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -1392,6 +1392,9 @@ static int git_default_core_config(const char *var, const char *value,
 			check_stat = 1;
 		else if (!strcasecmp(value, "minimal"))
 			check_stat = 0;
+		else
+			return error(_("invalid value for '%s': '%s'"),
+				     var, value);
 	}
 
 	if (!strcmp(var, "core.quotepath")) {