diff --git a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.ui/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/ui/search/PDOMSearchPage.java b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.ui/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/ui/search/PDOMSearchPage.java
index 8c41cad4c75..f4cbd7d11ec 100644
--- a/core/org.eclipse.cdt.ui/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/ui/search/PDOMSearchPage.java
+++ b/core/org.eclipse.cdt.ui/src/org/eclipse/cdt/internal/ui/search/PDOMSearchPage.java
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ public class PDOMSearchPage extends DialogPage implements ISearchPage {
 					// TODO it might be good to do a selection parse to ensure that
 					// the selection is valid.
 				}
-				if (patternCombo.getText().trim().length() == 0 && previousPatterns.length > 0) {
+				if (patternCombo.getText().trim().length() == 0 && previousPatterns != null && previousPatterns.length > 0) {
 					patternCombo.setText(previousPatterns[0]);
 				}