diff --git a/scripts/maint/lintChanges.py b/scripts/maint/lintChanges.py
index 0b8c5e5d2e..b63a4eb3a1 100755
--- a/scripts/maint/lintChanges.py
+++ b/scripts/maint/lintChanges.py
@@ -55,7 +55,10 @@ def lintfile(fname):
            '(' not in m.group(2)):
         warn("Missing subcategory on %s"%m.group(1))
 
-    isBug = ("bug" in m.group(1).lower() or "fix" in m.group(1).lower())
+    if m:
+        isBug = ("bug" in m.group(1).lower() or "fix" in m.group(1).lower())
+    else:
+        isBug = False
 
     contents = " ".join(contents.split())