--- qemu/json-parser.c	2018/04/24 17:57:15	1.1.1.2
+++ qemu/json-parser.c	2018/04/24 18:06:37	1.1.1.3
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ static int parse_pair(JSONParserContext 
 
     peek = qlist_peek(working);
     key = parse_value(ctxt, &working, ap);
-    if (qobject_type(key) != QTYPE_QSTRING) {
+    if (!key || qobject_type(key) != QTYPE_QSTRING) {
         parse_error(ctxt, peek, "key is not a string in object");
         goto out;
     }