diff --git a/src/surfaceitem.cpp b/src/surfaceitem.cpp
index 06a8c0278b..b29693dd66 100644
--- a/src/surfaceitem.cpp
+++ b/src/surfaceitem.cpp
@@ -127,6 +127,10 @@ void SurfaceItem::preprocess()
 
 WindowQuadList SurfaceItem::buildQuads() const
 {
+    if (!pixmap()) {
+        return {};
+    }
+
     const QRegion region = shape();
     const auto size = pixmap()->size();