diff --git a/kernel/fatal.c b/kernel/fatal.c
index 1922e320aca..077c6f8b691 100644
--- a/kernel/fatal.c
+++ b/kernel/fatal.c
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ __weak void k_sys_fatal_error_handler(unsigned int reason,
 
 static const char *thread_name_get(struct k_thread *thread)
 {
-	const char *thread_name = k_thread_name_get(thread);
+	const char *thread_name = thread ? k_thread_name_get(thread) : NULL;
 
 	if (thread_name == NULL || thread_name[0] == '\0') {
 		thread_name = "unknown";