diff --git a/src/backends/x11/meta-cursor-renderer-x11.c b/src/backends/x11/meta-cursor-renderer-x11.c
index 974abf017..a5816174b 100644
--- a/src/backends/x11/meta-cursor-renderer-x11.c
+++ b/src/backends/x11/meta-cursor-renderer-x11.c
@@ -108,11 +108,14 @@ meta_cursor_renderer_x11_update_cursor (MetaCursorRenderer *renderer,
           Cursor xcursor;
 
           xcursor = create_x_cursor (xdisplay, cursor);
-          XDefineCursor (xdisplay, xwindow, xcursor);
-          XFlush (xdisplay);
-          XFreeCursor (xdisplay, xcursor);
+          if (xcursor)
+            {
+              XDefineCursor (xdisplay, xwindow, xcursor);
+              XFlush (xdisplay);
+              XFreeCursor (xdisplay, xcursor);
 
-          has_server_cursor = TRUE;
+              has_server_cursor = TRUE;
+            }
         }
     }