diff --git a/src/swtpm/swtpm_nvstore.c b/src/swtpm/swtpm_nvstore.c
index 9480150..4370883 100644
--- a/src/swtpm/swtpm_nvstore.c
+++ b/src/swtpm/swtpm_nvstore.c
@@ -179,7 +179,11 @@ TPM_RESULT SWTPM_NVRAM_Init(void)
     TPM_DEBUG(" SWTPM_NVRAM_Init:\n");
 
     backend_uri = tpmstate_get_backend_uri();
-    if (strncmp(backend_uri, "dir://", 6) == 0) {
+    if (!backend_uri) {
+        logprintf(STDERR_FILENO,
+                  "SWTPM_NVRAM_Init: Missing backend URI.\n");
+        rc = TPM_FAIL;
+    } else if (strncmp(backend_uri, "dir://", 6) == 0) {
         g_nvram_backend_ops = &nvram_dir_ops;
     } else if (strncmp(backend_uri, "file://", 7) == 0) {
         g_nvram_backend_ops = &nvram_linear_ops;