diff --git a/src/pal/src/pal_enclave.c b/src/pal/src/pal_enclave.c
index becea3db..b5394de8 100644
--- a/src/pal/src/pal_enclave.c
+++ b/src/pal/src/pal_enclave.c
@@ -66,7 +66,10 @@ int pal_init_enclave(const char *instance_dir) {
      *         if there is no token, then create a new one.
      */
     /* try to get the token saved in $HOME */
-    const char *home_dir = getpwuid(getuid())->pw_dir;
+    const char *home_dir = NULL;
+    struct passwd *pw = getpwuid(getuid());
+    if (pw != NULL)
+        home_dir = pw->pw_dir;
 
     if (home_dir != NULL &&
             (strlen(home_dir) + strlen("/") + sizeof(TOKEN_FILENAME) + 1) <= MAX_PATH) {