diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c b/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c
index d22237b86e..3dfa51b0a0 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_hotplug.c
@@ -1341,7 +1341,7 @@ qemuDomainAddTLSObjects(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     if (qemuDomainObjEnterMonitorAsync(driver, vm, asyncJob) < 0)
         return -1;
 
-    if (secProps &&
+    if (secProps && *secProps &&
         qemuMonitorAddObject(priv->mon, secProps, &secAlias) < 0)
         goto error;