diff --git a/tools/perf/util/symbol.c b/tools/perf/util/symbol.c
index d9e995bf8b6f6d7bfacb88a077c96831ff108c94..c0a028c3ebaf35905e99e69f4cef76e5e343f44f 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/symbol.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/symbol.c
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ struct symbol_conf symbol_conf = {
 
 int dso__name_len(const struct dso *dso)
 {
+	if (!dso)
+		return strlen("[unknown]");
 	if (verbose)
 		return dso->long_name_len;