diff --git a/src/fe-common/core/fe-settings.c b/src/fe-common/core/fe-settings.c
index 8dba8f73..7cb0ee2a 100644
--- a/src/fe-common/core/fe-settings.c
+++ b/src/fe-common/core/fe-settings.c
@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ static void cmd_set(char *data)
 			    "set", &optlist, &key, &value))
 		return;
 
+	if (*key == '\0') {
+		cmd_params_free(free_arg);
+		return;
+	}
 	clear = g_hash_table_lookup(optlist, "clear") != NULL;
 	set_default = g_hash_table_lookup(optlist, "default") != NULL;