diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/yahoo/imapnio/async/netty/ImapClientCommandRespHandler.java b/core/src/main/java/com/yahoo/imapnio/async/netty/ImapClientCommandRespHandler.java
index e6b2458..03ce596 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/yahoo/imapnio/async/netty/ImapClientCommandRespHandler.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/yahoo/imapnio/async/netty/ImapClientCommandRespHandler.java
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ public void decode(final ChannelHandlerContext ctx, final IMAPResponse msg, fina
 
     @Override
     public void exceptionCaught(final ChannelHandlerContext ctx, final Throwable cause) {
-        processor.handleChannelException(cause);
+        if (processor != null) {
+            processor.handleChannelException(cause);
+        }
     }
 
     /**