diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/service.rb b/Library/Homebrew/service.rb
index 3d1de39211..09e2fb6b59 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/service.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/service.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # typed: true
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
+require "ipaddr"
 require "extend/on_system"
 
 module Homebrew
@@ -187,7 +188,7 @@ module Homebrew
       end
     end
 
-    SOCKET_STRING_REGEX = %r{([a-z]+)://([a-z0-9.]+):([0-9]+)}i.freeze
+    SOCKET_STRING_REGEX = %r{^([a-z]+)://(.+):([0-9]+)$}i.freeze
 
     sig {
       params(value: T.nilable(T.any(String, T::Hash[Symbol, String])))
@@ -206,6 +207,13 @@ module Homebrew
         raise TypeError, "Service#sockets a formatted socket definition as <type>://<host>:<port>" if match.blank?
 
         type, host, port = match.captures
+
+        begin
+          IPAddr.new(host)
+        rescue IPAddr::InvalidAddressError
+          raise TypeError, "Service#sockets expects a valid ipv4 or ipv6 host address"
+        end
+
         { host: host, port: port, type: type }
       end
     end
@@ -424,7 +432,6 @@ module Homebrew
             SockNodeName:    info[:host],
             SockServiceName: info[:port],
             SockProtocol:    info[:type].upcase,
-            SockFamily:      "IPv4v6",
           }
         end
       end
@@ -522,10 +529,19 @@ module Homebrew
           .join(" ")
       end
 
-      sockets_hash = if @sockets.present?
-        @sockets.transform_values do |info|
-          "#{info[:type]}://#{info[:host]}:#{info[:port]}"
-        end
+      sockets_var = if @sockets.present?
+        @sockets.transform_values { |info| "#{info[:type]}://#{info[:host]}:#{info[:port]}" }
+                .then do |sockets_hash|
+                  # TODO: Remove this code when all users are running on versions of Homebrew
+                  # that can process sockets hashes (this commit or later).
+                  if sockets_hash.size == 1 && sockets_hash.key?(:listeners)
+                    # When original #sockets argument was a string: `sockets "tcp://127.0.0.1:80"`
+                    sockets_hash.fetch(:listeners)
+                  else
+                    # When original #sockets argument was a hash: `sockets http: "tcp://0.0.0.0:80"`
+                    sockets_hash
+                  end
+                end
       end
 
       {
@@ -546,7 +562,7 @@ module Homebrew
         restart_delay:         @restart_delay,
         process_type:          @process_type,
         macos_legacy_timers:   @macos_legacy_timers,
-        sockets:               sockets_hash,
+        sockets:               sockets_var,
       }.compact
     end
 
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/service_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/service_spec.rb
index 7f28005fb0..85f1e8be51 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/service_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/service_spec.rb
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
     it "throws for missing type" do
       [
         stub_formula_with_service_sockets("127.0.0.1:80"),
-        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ "Socket" => "127.0.0.1:80" }),
+        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ socket: "127.0.0.1:80" }),
       ].each do |f|
         expect { f.service.manual_command }.to raise_error TypeError, sockets_type_error_message
       end
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
     it "throws for missing host" do
       [
         stub_formula_with_service_sockets("tcp://:80"),
-        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ "Socket" => "tcp://:80" }),
+        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ socket: "tcp://:80" }),
       ].each do |f|
         expect { f.service.manual_command }.to raise_error TypeError, sockets_type_error_message
       end
@@ -134,11 +134,22 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
     it "throws for missing port" do
       [
         stub_formula_with_service_sockets("tcp://127.0.0.1"),
-        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ "Socket" => "tcp://127.0.0.1" }),
+        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ socket: "tcp://127.0.0.1" }),
       ].each do |f|
         expect { f.service.manual_command }.to raise_error TypeError, sockets_type_error_message
       end
     end
+
+    it "throws for invalid host" do
+      [
+        stub_formula_with_service_sockets("tcp://300.0.0.1:80"),
+        stub_formula_with_service_sockets({ socket: "tcp://300.0.0.1:80" }),
+      ].each do |f|
+        expect do
+          f.service.manual_command
+        end.to raise_error TypeError, "Service#sockets expects a valid ipv4 or ipv6 host address"
+      end
+    end
   end
 
   describe "#manual_command" do
@@ -283,8 +294,6 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
         \t<dict>
         \t\t<key>listeners</key>
         \t\t<dict>
-        \t\t\t<key>SockFamily</key>
-        \t\t\t<string>IPv4v6</string>
         \t\t\t<key>SockNodeName</key>
         \t\t\t<string>127.0.0.1</string>
         \t\t\t<key>SockProtocol</key>
@@ -341,8 +350,6 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
         \t<dict>
         \t\t<key>socket</key>
         \t\t<dict>
-        \t\t\t<key>SockFamily</key>
-        \t\t\t<string>IPv4v6</string>
         \t\t\t<key>SockNodeName</key>
         \t\t\t<string>0.0.0.0</string>
         \t\t\t<key>SockProtocol</key>
@@ -352,8 +359,6 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
         \t\t</dict>
         \t\t<key>socket_tls</key>
         \t\t<dict>
-        \t\t\t<key>SockFamily</key>
-        \t\t\t<string>IPv4v6</string>
         \t\t\t<key>SockNodeName</key>
         \t\t\t<string>0.0.0.0</string>
         \t\t\t<key>SockProtocol</key>
@@ -1049,7 +1054,7 @@ describe Homebrew::Service do
         run_type:              :immediate,
         working_dir:           "/$HOME",
         cron:                  "0 0 * * 0",
-        sockets:               { listeners: "tcp://0.0.0.0:80" },
+        sockets:               "tcp://0.0.0.0:80",
       }
     end