diff --git a/common/cmd_nvedit.c b/common/cmd_nvedit.c
index 8ecc4982309874e4cbfe8c1c0b6e0dd0efb17010..bb1d4ec3e54df90a6df9d8ce7de7add30b1b3b90 100644
--- a/common/cmd_nvedit.c
+++ b/common/cmd_nvedit.c
@@ -215,6 +215,9 @@ int env_check_apply(const char *name, const char *oldval,
 {
 	int   console = -1;
 
+	/* Default value for NULL to protect string-manipulating functions */
+	newval = newval ? : "";
+
 	/* Check for console redirection */
 	if (strcmp(name, "stdin") == 0)
 		console = stdin;