diff --git a/linker/linker.cpp b/linker/linker.cpp
index 0fdf90d..c193861 100644
--- a/linker/linker.cpp
+++ b/linker/linker.cpp
@@ -2365,12 +2365,16 @@
 }
 
 bool init_namespaces(const char* public_ns_sonames, const char* anon_ns_library_path) {
-  CHECK(public_ns_sonames != nullptr);
   if (g_public_namespace_initialized) {
     DL_ERR("public namespace has already been initialized.");
     return false;
   }
 
+  if (public_ns_sonames == nullptr || public_ns_sonames[0] == '\0') {
+    DL_ERR("error initializing public namespace: the list of public libraries is empty.");
+    return false;
+  }
+
   std::vector<std::string> sonames = android::base::Split(public_ns_sonames, ":");
 
   ProtectedDataGuard guard;