diff --git a/system/HTTP/SiteURIFactory.php b/system/HTTP/SiteURIFactory.php
index c8996038116f..49ee3bf3ed73 100644
--- a/system/HTTP/SiteURIFactory.php
+++ b/system/HTTP/SiteURIFactory.php
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ private function parseRequestURI(): string
      */
     private function parseQueryString(): string
     {
-        $query = $this->superglobals->server('QUERY_STRING') ?? @getenv('QUERY_STRING');
+        $query = $this->superglobals->server('QUERY_STRING') ?? (string) getenv('QUERY_STRING');
 
         if (trim($query, '/') === '') {
             return '/';