diff --git a/gitweb/gitweb.perl b/gitweb/gitweb.perl
index 1f6978ac1f..2ccbb6aa34 100755
--- a/gitweb/gitweb.perl
+++ b/gitweb/gitweb.perl
@@ -3372,7 +3372,7 @@ sub git_footer_html {
 	      "</html>";
 }
 
-# die_error(<http_status_code>, <error_message>)
+# die_error(<http_status_code>, <error_message>[, <detailed_html_description>])
 # Example: die_error(404, 'Hash not found')
 # By convention, use the following status codes (as defined in RFC 2616):
 # 400: Invalid or missing CGI parameters, or
@@ -3387,7 +3387,7 @@ sub git_footer_html {
 #      or down for maintenance).  Generally, this is a temporary state.
 sub die_error {
 	my $status = shift || 500;
-	my $error = shift || "Internal server error";
+	my $error = esc_html(shift || "Internal Server Error");
 	my $extra = shift;
 
 	my %http_responses = (