diff --git a/src/http/ngx_http_upstream.c b/src/http/ngx_http_upstream.c
index 92582436..6401cc4e 100644
--- a/src/http/ngx_http_upstream.c
+++ b/src/http/ngx_http_upstream.c
@@ -1106,7 +1106,7 @@ ngx_http_upstream_cache_background_update(ngx_http_request_t *r,
 {
     ngx_http_request_t  *sr;
 
-    if (!r->cached || !r->cache->background) {
+    if (!r->cached || !r->cache || !r->cache->background) {
         return NGX_OK;
     }