diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c b/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c
index c5be3f390849..ae3da27b0097 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c
@@ -189,7 +189,8 @@ static int rtattr_pack(struct nlmsghdr *nh, size_t req_sz,
 
 	attr->rta_len = RTA_LENGTH(size);
 	attr->rta_type = rta_type;
-	memcpy(RTA_DATA(attr), payload, size);
+	if (payload)
+		memcpy(RTA_DATA(attr), payload, size);
 
 	return 0;
 }