diff --git a/main/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/main/AutoProcessor.java b/main/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/main/AutoProcessor.java
index 1a3f926..ae77fbb 100644
--- a/main/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/main/AutoProcessor.java
+++ b/main/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/main/AutoProcessor.java
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@
     **/
     public static void process(Map configMap, BundleContext context)
     {
+        configMap = (configMap == null) ? new HashMap() : configMap;
         processAutoDeploy(configMap, context);
         processAutoProperties(configMap, context);
     }