diff --git a/ui/vnc.c b/ui/vnc.c
index 1e95445c4a..6f9b718814 100644
--- a/ui/vnc.c
+++ b/ui/vnc.c
@@ -3703,8 +3703,13 @@ QemuOpts *vnc_parse_func(const char *str)
 {
     QemuOptsList *olist = qemu_find_opts("vnc");
     QemuOpts *opts = qemu_opts_parse(olist, str, 1);
-    const char *id = qemu_opts_id(opts);
+    const char *id;
 
+    if (!opts) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    id = qemu_opts_id(opts);
     if (!id) {
         /* auto-assign id if not present */
         vnc_auto_assign_id(olist, opts);