diff --git a/lib/extension/publish.js b/lib/extension/publish.js
index 39eb33d62..866f611df 100644
--- a/lib/extension/publish.js
+++ b/lib/extension/publish.js
@@ -102,7 +102,11 @@ class EntityPublish extends Extension {
         // Convert the MQTT message to a Zigbee message.
         let json = {};
         if (topic.hasOwnProperty('attribute') && topic.attribute) {
-            json[topic.attribute] = message;
+            try {
+                json[topic.attribute] = JSON.parse(message);
+            } catch (e) {
+                json[topic.attribute] = message;
+            }
         } else {
             try {
                 json = JSON.parse(message);