diff --git a/servers/slapd/sasl.c b/servers/slapd/sasl.c
index 3bcc33b738..ca814513c7 100644
--- a/servers/slapd/sasl.c
+++ b/servers/slapd/sasl.c
@@ -636,9 +636,11 @@ int slap_sasl_bind(
 	}
 
 	if ( !conn->c_sasl_bind_in_progress ) {
+		const char *kludge = "";
 		sc = sasl_server_start( ctx,
 			conn->c_sasl_bind_mech,
-			cred->bv_val, cred->bv_len,
+			cred->bv_len ? cred->bv_val : kludge,
+			cred->bv_len,
 			(char **)&response.bv_val, &reslen, &errstr );
 
 	} else {