diff --git a/subversion/libsvn_repos/list.c b/subversion/libsvn_repos/list.c
index d52e193..47d92a5 100644
--- a/subversion/libsvn_repos/list.c
+++ b/subversion/libsvn_repos/list.c
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ matches_any(const char *dirname,
             apr_array_header_t *patterns)
 {
   int i;
-  if (!patterns->nelts)
+  if (!patterns || !patterns->nelts)
     return TRUE;
 
   for (i = 0; i < patterns->nelts; ++i)