diff --git a/activemq-http/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/transport/ws/WSServlet.java b/activemq-http/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/transport/ws/WSServlet.java
index f5ace832aa..d0ed22da92 100644
--- a/activemq-http/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/transport/ws/WSServlet.java
+++ b/activemq-http/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/transport/ws/WSServlet.java
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ public class WSServlet extends WebSocketServlet {
     @Override
     public WebSocket doWebSocketConnect(HttpServletRequest request, String protocol) {
         WebSocket socket;
-        if (protocol.startsWith("mqtt")) {
+        if (protocol != null && protocol.startsWith("mqtt")) {
             socket = new MQTTSocket();
         } else {
             socket = new StompSocket();