diff --git a/hibernate-ehcache/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cache/ehcache/internal/util/HibernateEhcacheUtils.java b/hibernate-ehcache/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cache/ehcache/internal/util/HibernateEhcacheUtils.java
index 6167af991e..c3187cbbb5 100644
--- a/hibernate-ehcache/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cache/ehcache/internal/util/HibernateEhcacheUtils.java
+++ b/hibernate-ehcache/src/main/java/org/hibernate/cache/ehcache/internal/util/HibernateEhcacheUtils.java
@@ -68,6 +68,12 @@ public final class HibernateEhcacheUtils {
 	 */
 	public static Configuration loadAndCorrectConfiguration(URL url) {
 		final Configuration config = ConfigurationFactory.parseConfiguration( url );
+		
+		// EHC-875 / HHH-6576
+		if ( config == null ) {
+			return null;
+		}
+		
 		if ( config.getDefaultCacheConfiguration().isTerracottaClustered() ) {
 			if ( ValueMode.IDENTITY
 					.equals( config.getDefaultCacheConfiguration().getTerracottaConfiguration().getValueMode() ) ) {