diff --git a/OpenKeychain/src/main/java/org/sufficientlysecure/keychain/securitytoken/CardCapabilities.java b/OpenKeychain/src/main/java/org/sufficientlysecure/keychain/securitytoken/CardCapabilities.java
index 8133f985d..d6600ab01 100644
--- a/OpenKeychain/src/main/java/org/sufficientlysecure/keychain/securitytoken/CardCapabilities.java
+++ b/OpenKeychain/src/main/java/org/sufficientlysecure/keychain/securitytoken/CardCapabilities.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public class CardCapabilities {
     private byte[] mCapabilityBytes;
 
     public CardCapabilities(byte[] historicalBytes) throws UsbTransportException {
-        if (historicalBytes[0] != 0x00) {
+        if ((historicalBytes == null) || (historicalBytes[0] != 0x00)) {
             throw new UsbTransportException("Invalid historical bytes category indicator byte");
         }