diff --git a/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/NvdCveUpdater.java b/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/NvdCveUpdater.java
index ee26e8dbd..3ab3c5c56 100644
--- a/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/NvdCveUpdater.java
+++ b/dependency-check-core/src/main/java/org/owasp/dependencycheck/data/update/NvdCveUpdater.java
@@ -172,7 +172,9 @@ public class NvdCveUpdater implements CachedWebDataSource {
             throw new UpdateException("Database Exception", ex);
         } finally {
             shutdownExecutorServices();
-            cveDb.close();
+            if(cveDb != null) {
+                cveDb.close();
+            }
             if (lock != null) {
                 try {
                     lock.release();