diff --git a/artemis-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/utils/UUIDGenerator.java b/artemis-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/utils/UUIDGenerator.java
index 627fa86fae..111d8f03cc 100644
--- a/artemis-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/utils/UUIDGenerator.java
+++ b/artemis-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/utils/UUIDGenerator.java
@@ -247,6 +247,10 @@ public final class UUIDGenerator {
       try {
          networkInterfaces = NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces();
 
+         if (networkInterfaces == null) {
+            return Collections.emptyList();
+         }
+
          List<NetworkInterface> ifaces = new ArrayList<>();
          while (networkInterfaces.hasMoreElements()) {
             ifaces.add(networkInterfaces.nextElement());