diff --git a/subprojects/gst-plugins-good/gst/rtpmanager/rtpjitterbuffer.c b/subprojects/gst-plugins-good/gst/rtpmanager/rtpjitterbuffer.c
index af8cf637d3..32b1661f04 100644
--- a/subprojects/gst-plugins-good/gst/rtpmanager/rtpjitterbuffer.c
+++ b/subprojects/gst-plugins-good/gst/rtpmanager/rtpjitterbuffer.c
@@ -1309,7 +1309,8 @@ rtp_jitter_buffer_pop (RTPJitterBuffer * jbuf, gint * percent)
 
   /* let's clear the pointers so we can ensure we don't free items that are
    * still in the jitterbuffer */
-  item->next = item->prev = NULL;
+  if (item)
+    item->next = item->prev = NULL;
 
   return (RTPJitterBufferItem *) item;
 }