diff --git a/lib/krb5/context.c b/lib/krb5/context.c
index ffd2d6e27..7f1651b17 100644
--- a/lib/krb5/context.c
+++ b/lib/krb5/context.c
@@ -514,6 +514,8 @@ krb5_get_err_text(krb5_context context, krb5_error_code code)
 	p = com_right(context->et_list, code);
     if(p == NULL)
 	p = strerror(code);
+    if (p == NULL)
+	p = "Unknown error";
     return p;
 }