diff --git a/ldms/src/ldmsd/ldmsd_config.c b/ldms/src/ldmsd/ldmsd_config.c
index 345e1aa14..ab705dc8b 100644
--- a/ldms/src/ldmsd/ldmsd_config.c
+++ b/ldms/src/ldmsd/ldmsd_config.c
@@ -1174,7 +1174,7 @@ int ldmsd_plugins_usage(const char *plugname)
 	char *libpath;
 	char *saveptr = NULL;
 
-	if (0 == strcmp(plugname, "all"))
+	if (plugname && 0 == strcmp(plugname, "all"))
 		plugname = NULL;
 
 	char *path = getenv("LDMSD_PLUGIN_LIBPATH");