diff --git a/main/channel.c b/main/channel.c
index c644dbe42d..0ccf18b75f 100644
--- a/main/channel.c
+++ b/main/channel.c
@@ -4596,6 +4596,9 @@ ast_group_t ast_get_group(const char *s)
 	int start=0, finish=0, x;
 	ast_group_t group = 0;
 
+	if (ast_strlen_zero(s))
+		return 0;
+
 	c = ast_strdupa(s);
 	
 	while ((piece = strsep(&c, ","))) {