diff --git a/webconsole/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/webconsole/internal/servlet/OsgiManager.java b/webconsole/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/webconsole/internal/servlet/OsgiManager.java
index 3061693..570694a 100644
--- a/webconsole/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/webconsole/internal/servlet/OsgiManager.java
+++ b/webconsole/src/main/java/org/apache/felix/webconsole/internal/servlet/OsgiManager.java
@@ -294,7 +294,12 @@
             catch ( NoClassDefFoundError ncdfe )
             {
                 String message = ncdfe.getMessage();
-                if ( message.indexOf( ' ' ) < 0 )
+                if ( message == null )
+                {
+                    // no message, construct it
+                    message = "Class definition not found (NoClassDefFoundError)";
+                }
+                else if ( message.indexOf( ' ' ) < 0 )
                 {
                     // message is just a class name, try to be more descriptive
                     message = "Class " + message + " missing";