diff --git a/source/registry/reg_objects.c b/source/registry/reg_objects.c
index 1bd3ac9bd91..83fd85658fb 100644
--- a/source/registry/reg_objects.c
+++ b/source/registry/reg_objects.c
@@ -109,6 +109,10 @@ BOOL regsubkey_ctr_key_exists( REGSUBKEY_CTR *ctr, const char *keyname )
 {
 	int 	i;
 	
+	if (!ctr->subkeys) {
+		return False;
+	}
+
 	for ( i=0; i<ctr->num_subkeys; i++ ) {
 		if ( strequal( ctr->subkeys[i],keyname ) )
 			return True;