diff --git a/hagrid-routes.conf b/hagrid-routes.conf
index 9381083..069bb05 100644
--- a/hagrid-routes.conf
+++ b/hagrid-routes.conf
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ location /pks/lookup {
     # strip angle brackets - we don't need them, but they cause issues
     # with the Rocket framework
     # see https://gitlab.com/sequoia-pgp/hagrid/issues/94
-    if ($request_uri ~ "^/pks/lookup\?(.*)\<(.+)\>(.*)") {
+    if ($request_uri ~ "^/pks/lookup\?(.*search=)[^&<>]*\<(.+)\>(.*)") {
         set $left $1;
         set $middle $2;
         set $right $3;