diff --git a/apps/lib/apps.c b/apps/lib/apps.c
index 1998a8bc2f..457dac87bc 100644
--- a/apps/lib/apps.c
+++ b/apps/lib/apps.c
@@ -469,10 +469,10 @@ CONF *app_load_config_modules(const char *configfile)
     return conf;
 }
 
-#define IS_HTTP(uri) \
-    (strncmp(uri, OSSL_HTTP_PREFIX, strlen(OSSL_HTTP_PREFIX)) == 0)
-#define IS_HTTPS(uri) \
-    (strncmp(uri, OSSL_HTTPS_PREFIX, strlen(OSSL_HTTPS_PREFIX)) == 0)
+#define IS_HTTP(uri) ((uri) != NULL \
+        && strncmp(uri, OSSL_HTTP_PREFIX, strlen(OSSL_HTTP_PREFIX)) == 0)
+#define IS_HTTPS(uri) ((uri) != NULL \
+        && strncmp(uri, OSSL_HTTPS_PREFIX, strlen(OSSL_HTTPS_PREFIX)) == 0)
 
 X509 *load_cert_pass(const char *uri, int maybe_stdin,
                      const char *pass, const char *desc)