diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c b/arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c
index a5b4dce1b7ac..904611bf0e5a 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ static int __init parse_lapic(char *arg)
 {
 	if (config_enabled(CONFIG_X86_32) && !arg)
 		force_enable_local_apic = 1;
-	else if (!strncmp(arg, "notscdeadline", 13))
+	else if (arg && !strncmp(arg, "notscdeadline", 13))
 		setup_clear_cpu_cap(X86_FEATURE_TSC_DEADLINE_TIMER);
 	return 0;
 }