diff --git a/tools/perf/util/pmu.c b/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
index 616fbda7c3fc..ef6a63f3d386 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
@@ -984,12 +984,11 @@ static int pmu_resolve_param_term(struct parse_events_term *term,
 	struct parse_events_term *t;
 
 	list_for_each_entry(t, head_terms, list) {
-		if (t->type_val == PARSE_EVENTS__TERM_TYPE_NUM) {
-			if (!strcmp(t->config, term->config)) {
-				t->used = true;
-				*value = t->val.num;
-				return 0;
-			}
+		if (t->type_val == PARSE_EVENTS__TERM_TYPE_NUM &&
+		    t->config && !strcmp(t->config, term->config)) {
+			t->used = true;
+			*value = t->val.num;
+			return 0;
 		}
 	}