diff --git a/ipc/glue/BackgroundUtils.cpp b/ipc/glue/BackgroundUtils.cpp
index 5b4feea6b058..65753972ac4c 100644
--- a/ipc/glue/BackgroundUtils.cpp
+++ b/ipc/glue/BackgroundUtils.cpp
@@ -129,6 +129,10 @@ PrincipalToPrincipalInfo(nsIPrincipal* aPrincipal,
     return rv;
   }
 
+  if (NS_WARN_IF(!uri)) {
+    return NS_ERROR_FAILURE;
+  }
+
   nsCString spec;
   rv = uri->GetSpec(spec);
   if (NS_WARN_IF(NS_FAILED(rv))) {