diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c b/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c
index b751eea32e20..5db6f45b3fed 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/ibalance.c
@@ -1153,8 +1153,9 @@ int balance_internal(struct tree_balance *tb,
 				       insert_ptr);
 	}
 
-	memcpy(new_insert_key_addr, &new_insert_key, KEY_SIZE);
 	insert_ptr[0] = new_insert_ptr;
+	if (new_insert_ptr)
+		memcpy(new_insert_key_addr, &new_insert_key, KEY_SIZE);
 
 	return order;
 }