diff --git a/src/lib-config/get.c b/src/lib-config/get.c
index 07a328ce..0a41272b 100644
--- a/src/lib-config/get.c
+++ b/src/lib-config/get.c
@@ -197,6 +197,8 @@ char *config_node_get_str(CONFIG_NODE *parent, const char *key, const char *def)
 {
 	CONFIG_NODE *node;
 
+        if (parent == NULL) return (char *) def;
+
 	node = config_node_find(parent, key);
 	return (node == NULL || !has_node_value(node)) ? def : node->value;
 }