diff --git a/src/wayland/surface_interface.cpp b/src/wayland/surface_interface.cpp
index f369fe4080..34538532c0 100644
--- a/src/wayland/surface_interface.cpp
+++ b/src/wayland/surface_interface.cpp
@@ -690,7 +690,13 @@ void SurfaceInterfacePrivate::commitFromCache()
 
 bool SurfaceInterfacePrivate::computeEffectiveMapped() const
 {
-    return bufferRef && (!subSurface || subSurface->parentSurface()->isMapped());
+    if (!bufferRef) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (subSurface) {
+        return subSurface->parentSurface() && subSurface->parentSurface()->isMapped();
+    }
+    return true;
 }
 
 void SurfaceInterfacePrivate::updateEffectiveMapped()