diff --git a/src/devices/nm-device.c b/src/devices/nm-device.c
index 8489e05358..d40457b4f4 100644
--- a/src/devices/nm-device.c
+++ b/src/devices/nm-device.c
@@ -6347,6 +6347,9 @@ nm_device_spec_match_list (NMDevice *device, const GSList *specs)
 {
 	g_return_val_if_fail (NM_IS_DEVICE (device), FALSE);
 
+	if (!specs)
+		return FALSE;
+
 	return NM_DEVICE_GET_CLASS (device)->spec_match_list (device, specs);
 }