diff --git a/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp b/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp
index 7f21375..33d5b62 100644
--- a/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp
+++ b/libnativeloader/native_loader.cpp
@@ -54,7 +54,12 @@
                               bool is_shared,
                               jstring java_library_path,
                               jstring java_permitted_path) {
-    ScopedUtfChars library_path(env, java_library_path);
+    std::string library_path; // empty string by default.
+
+    if (java_library_path != nullptr) {
+      ScopedUtfChars library_path_utf_chars(env, java_library_path);
+      library_path = library_path_utf_chars.c_str();
+    }
 
     std::string permitted_path;
     if (java_permitted_path != nullptr) {