diff --git a/libs/esl/src/esl_event.c b/libs/esl/src/esl_event.c
index e9985d9d6d..73a41b7868 100644
--- a/libs/esl/src/esl_event.c
+++ b/libs/esl/src/esl_event.c
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ ESL_DECLARE(char *) esl_event_get_header_idx(esl_event_t *event, const char *hea
 		}
 
 		return hp->value;
-	} else if (!strcmp(header_name, "_body")) {
+	} else if (header_name && !strcmp(header_name, "_body")) {
 		return event->body;
 	}