diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/DocumentNode.java b/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/DocumentNode.java
index 7a5bf69009..fa49ae4900 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/DocumentNode.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/poi/poifs/filesystem/DocumentNode.java
@@ -134,7 +134,9 @@ public class DocumentNode
         List<Object> components = new ArrayList<Object>();
 
         components.add(getProperty());
-        components.add(_document);
+        if (_document != null) {
+            components.add(_document);
+        }
         return components.iterator();
     }