diff --git a/src/w_wad.c b/src/w_wad.c
index 4aae2ee46..6566800c0 100644
--- a/src/w_wad.c
+++ b/src/w_wad.c
@@ -1747,6 +1747,9 @@ void *W_CachePatchNum(lumpnum_t lumpnum, INT32 tag)
 
 void W_UnlockCachedPatch(void *patch)
 {
+	if (!patch)
+		return;
+
 	// The hardware code does its own memory management, as its patches
 	// have different lifetimes from software's.
 #ifdef HWRENDER