diff --git a/src/or/circuitbuild.c b/src/or/circuitbuild.c
index d5afffb537..a1dc71c264 100644
--- a/src/or/circuitbuild.c
+++ b/src/or/circuitbuild.c
@@ -346,7 +346,8 @@ int circuit_handle_first_hop(circuit_t *circ) {
 void circuit_n_conn_done(connection_t *or_conn, int status) {
   circuit_t *circ;
 
-  log_fn(LOG_DEBUG,"or_conn to %s, status=%d", or_conn->nickname, status);
+  log_fn(LOG_DEBUG,"or_conn to %s, status=%d",
+         or_conn->nickname ? or_conn->nickname : "NULL", status);
 
   for (circ=global_circuitlist;circ;circ = circ->next) {
     if (circ->marked_for_close)