diff --git a/src/http_client.c b/src/http_client.c
index ff2ab4e85..f137a6e3b 100644
--- a/src/http_client.c
+++ b/src/http_client.c
@@ -628,6 +628,9 @@ struct httpclient *httpclient_new(void *caller, enum http_meth_t meth, struct is
 {
 	struct httpclient *hc;
 
+	if (!httpclient_proxy)
+		return NULL;
+
 	hc = calloc(1, sizeof(*hc));
 	if (!hc)
 		goto err;
@@ -655,6 +658,9 @@ struct httpclient *httpclient_new_from_proxy(struct proxy *px, void *caller, enu
 {
 	struct httpclient *hc;
 
+	if (!px)
+		return NULL;
+
 	hc = httpclient_new(caller, meth, url);
 	if (!hc)
 		return NULL;