diff --git a/server/core/dbusers.c b/server/core/dbusers.c
index 6748a1437..57594f63d 100644
--- a/server/core/dbusers.c
+++ b/server/core/dbusers.c
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ HASHTABLE	*oldresources;
 	oldusers = service->users;
 
 	/* digest compare */
-	if (memcmp(oldusers->cksum, newusers->cksum, SHA_DIGEST_LENGTH) == 0) {
+	if (oldusers != NULL && memcmp(oldusers->cksum, newusers->cksum, SHA_DIGEST_LENGTH) == 0) {
 		/* same data, nothing to do */
 		LOGIF(LD, (skygw_log_write_flush(
 			LOGFILE_DEBUG,
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ HASHTABLE	*oldresources;
 
 	spinlock_release(&service->spin);
 
-	if (i) {
+	if (i && oldusers) {
 		/* free the old table */
 		users_free(oldusers);
 	}