diff --git a/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts b/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts
index 0e0fcef1..0f677072 100644
--- a/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts
+++ b/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts
@@ -168,6 +168,10 @@ export class SearchAddon implements ITerminalAddon {
       this.clearDecorations();
       return undefined;
     }
+    if (startRow > this._terminal.rows || startCol > this._terminal.cols) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid row: ${startRow} or col: ${startCol} to search in terminal with ${this._terminal.rows} rows and ${this._terminal.cols} cols`);
+    }
+
     let result: ISearchResult | undefined = undefined;
 
     this._initLinesCache();