diff --git a/src/arch/x86/system.cc b/src/arch/x86/system.cc
index effe1e9946..87fb61edc1 100644
--- a/src/arch/x86/system.cc
+++ b/src/arch/x86/system.cc
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ X86System::initState()
 {
     System::initState();
 
+    if (!kernel)
+        fatal("No kernel to load.\n");
+
     if (kernel->getArch() == ObjectFile::I386)
         fatal("Loading a 32 bit x86 kernel is not supported.\n");