diff --git a/wp-includes/version.php b/wp-includes/version.php
index 9ee377202b..7289f20059 100644
--- a/wp-includes/version.php
+++ b/wp-includes/version.php
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  *
  * @global string $wp_version
  */
-$wp_version = '5.6-alpha-48979';
+$wp_version = '5.6-alpha-48980';
 
 /**
  * Holds the WordPress DB revision, increments when changes are made to the WordPress DB schema.
diff --git a/wp-includes/wp-db.php b/wp-includes/wp-db.php
index 2e392d0954..9761de99a8 100644
--- a/wp-includes/wp-db.php
+++ b/wp-includes/wp-db.php
@@ -1159,6 +1159,10 @@ class wpdb {
 	 * @return string Escaped string.
 	 */
 	function _real_escape( $string ) {
+		if ( ! is_scalar( $string ) && ! is_null( $string ) ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
 		if ( $this->dbh ) {
 			if ( $this->use_mysqli ) {
 				$escaped = mysqli_real_escape_string( $this->dbh, $string );