diff --git a/lib/iscsi/portal_grp.c b/lib/iscsi/portal_grp.c
index 5c3266dd8..48518eba2 100644
--- a/lib/iscsi/portal_grp.c
+++ b/lib/iscsi/portal_grp.c
@@ -84,7 +84,22 @@ spdk_iscsi_portal_create(const char *host, const char *port, uint64_t cpumask)
 		SPDK_ERRLOG("portal malloc error (%s, %s)\n", host, port);
 		return NULL;
 	}
-	p->host = strdup(host);
+
+	/* check and overwrite abbreviation of wildcard */
+	if (strcasecmp(host, "[*]") == 0) {
+		SPDK_WARNLOG("Please use \"[::]\" as IPv6 wildcard\n");
+		SPDK_WARNLOG("Convert \"[*]\" to \"[::]\" automatically\n");
+		SPDK_WARNLOG("(Use of \"[*]\" will be deprecated in a future release)");
+		p->host = strdup("[::]");
+	} else if (strcasecmp(host, "*") == 0) {
+		SPDK_WARNLOG("Please use \"0.0.0.0\" as IPv4 wildcard\n");
+		SPDK_WARNLOG("Convert \"*\" to \"0.0.0.0\" automatically\n");
+		SPDK_WARNLOG("(Use of \"[*]\" will be deprecated in a future release)");
+		p->host = strdup("0.0.0.0");
+	} else {
+		p->host = strdup(host);
+	}
+
 	p->port = strdup(port);
 	p->cpumask = cpumask;
 	p->sock = -1;
diff --git a/lib/iscsi/tgt_node.c b/lib/iscsi/tgt_node.c
index 108539a00..5c645a4a9 100644
--- a/lib/iscsi/tgt_node.c
+++ b/lib/iscsi/tgt_node.c
@@ -403,18 +403,12 @@ spdk_iscsi_send_tgts(struct spdk_iscsi_conn *conn, const char *iiqn,
 					host = p->host;
 					/* wildcard? */
 					if (strcasecmp(host, "[::]") == 0
-					    || strcasecmp(host, "[*]") == 0
-					    || strcasecmp(host, "0.0.0.0") == 0
-					    || strcasecmp(host, "*") == 0) {
-						if ((strcasecmp(host, "[::]") == 0
-						     || strcasecmp(host, "[*]") == 0)
-						    && spdk_sock_is_ipv6(conn->sock)) {
+					    || strcasecmp(host, "0.0.0.0") == 0) {
+						if (spdk_sock_is_ipv6(conn->sock)) {
 							snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "[%s]",
 								 conn->target_addr);
 							host = buf;
-						} else if ((strcasecmp(host, "0.0.0.0") == 0
-							    || strcasecmp(host, "*") == 0)
-							   && spdk_sock_is_ipv4(conn->sock)) {
+						} else if (spdk_sock_is_ipv4(conn->sock)) {
 							snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "%s",
 								 conn->target_addr);
 							host = buf;
diff --git a/lib/net/sock.c b/lib/net/sock.c
index 125816756..fb03a1261 100644
--- a/lib/net/sock.c
+++ b/lib/net/sock.c
@@ -140,13 +140,6 @@ spdk_sock_create(const char *ip, int port, enum spdk_sock_create_type type)
 		if (p != NULL)
 			*p = '\0';
 		ip = (const char *) &buf[0];
-		if (strcasecmp(ip, "*") == 0) {
-			snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "::");
-			ip = (const char *) &buf[0];
-		}
-	} else if (strcasecmp(ip, "*") == 0) {
-		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "0.0.0.0");
-		ip = (const char *) &buf[0];
 	}
 
 	snprintf(portnum, sizeof portnum, "%d", port);