diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c b/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c
index be4a30a0d02ae..9b44a091802cb 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipsec.c
@@ -227,7 +227,8 @@ 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;
 }