diff --git a/plugin/kubernetes/parse.go b/plugin/kubernetes/parse.go
index adef4a024..1c072a649 100644
--- a/plugin/kubernetes/parse.go
+++ b/plugin/kubernetes/parse.go
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ func parseRequest(name, zone string) (r recordRequest, err error) {
 
 // stripUnderscore removes a prefixed underscore from s.
 func stripUnderscore(s string) string {
+	if len(s) == 0 {
+		return s
+	}
 	if s[0] != '_' {
 		return s
 	}
diff --git a/plugin/kubernetes/parse_test.go b/plugin/kubernetes/parse_test.go
index 4b8000b02..739a405ff 100644
--- a/plugin/kubernetes/parse_test.go
+++ b/plugin/kubernetes/parse_test.go
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ func TestParseRequest(t *testing.T) {
 		{"svc.inter.webs.tests.", "....."},
 		// bare pod type
 		{"pod.inter.webs.tests.", "....."},
+		// SRV request with empty segments
+		{"..webs.mynamespace.svc.inter.webs.tests.", "...webs.mynamespace.svc"},
 	}
 	for i, tc := range tests {
 		m := new(dns.Msg)