diff --git a/player/command.c b/player/command.c
index 3c7cfb282d..413349dce3 100644
--- a/player/command.c
+++ b/player/command.c
@@ -2438,7 +2438,7 @@ static int mp_property_video_codec(void *ctx, struct m_property *prop,
 {
     MPContext *mpctx = ctx;
     struct track *track = mpctx->current_track[0][STREAM_VIDEO];
-    const char *c = track->d_video ? track->d_video->decoder_desc : NULL;
+    const char *c = track && track->d_video ? track->d_video->decoder_desc : NULL;
     return m_property_strdup_ro(action, arg, c);
 }