diff --git a/kernel/sched.c b/kernel/sched.c
index b06acfd5a69..86fb585e386 100644
--- a/kernel/sched.c
+++ b/kernel/sched.c
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ static void pend(struct k_thread *thread, _wait_q_t *wait_q,
 		 k_timeout_t timeout)
 {
 #ifdef CONFIG_KERNEL_COHERENCE
-	__ASSERT_NO_MSG(arch_mem_coherent(wait_q));
+	__ASSERT_NO_MSG(wait_q == NULL || arch_mem_coherent(wait_q));
 #endif
 
 	LOCKED(&sched_spinlock) {