diff --git a/libweston/color-management.c b/libweston/color-management.c
index cc3d50fb9..bbeb2a266 100644
--- a/libweston/color-management.c
+++ b/libweston/color-management.c
@@ -51,7 +51,10 @@ struct cm_image_desc {
         struct wl_resource *owner;
         struct weston_color_manager *cm;
 
-        /* Reference to the color profile that it is backing up. */
+        /* Reference to the color profile that it is backing up. An image
+         * description without a cprof is valid, and that simply means that it
+         * isn't ready (i.e. we didn't send the 'ready' event because we are
+         * still in the process of creating the color profile). */
         struct weston_color_profile *cprof;
 
         /* Depending how the image description is created, the protocol states
@@ -252,6 +255,14 @@ image_description_get_information(struct wl_client *client,
                 return;
         }
 
+        /* Invalid image description for this request, as it isn't ready yet. */
+        if (!cm_image_desc->cprof) {
+                wl_resource_post_error(cm_image_desc_res,
+                                       XX_IMAGE_DESCRIPTION_V2_ERROR_NOT_READY,
+                                       "image description not ready yet");
+                return;
+        }
+
         /* Depending how the image description is created, the protocol states
          * that get_information() request should be invalid. */
         if (!cm_image_desc->supports_get_info) {
@@ -584,6 +595,15 @@ cm_surface_set_image_description(struct wl_client *client,
                 return;
         }
 
+        /* Invalid image description for this request, as it isn't ready yet. */
+        if (!cm_image_desc->cprof) {
+                /* TODO: the version of the xx protocol that we are using still
+                 * does not have an error for this. Fix when we update to the
+                 * next version. */
+                wl_resource_post_no_memory(cm_surface_res);
+                return;
+        }
+
         cm = cm_image_desc->cm;
 
         render_intent = weston_render_intent_info_from_protocol(surface->compositor,