diff --git a/appl/afsutil/afslog.c b/appl/afsutil/afslog.c
index bd3061bb5..3141e8dae 100644
--- a/appl/afsutil/afslog.c
+++ b/appl/afsutil/afslog.c
@@ -246,6 +246,8 @@ do_afslog(const char *cell)
 	    return 0;
     }
 #endif
+    if (cell == NULL)
+	cell = "<default cell>";
 #ifdef KRB5
     if (k5ret)
 	warnx("krb5_afslog(%s): %s", cell, krb5_get_err_text(context, k5ret));