diff --git a/src/plugins/debugger/debuggerrunner.cpp b/src/plugins/debugger/debuggerrunner.cpp
index d0713e8c355fe85ad060287e9701fe79c24c1454..2a3e35fe2777b2e4fe3e635d68e55cbc7defcc72 100644
--- a/src/plugins/debugger/debuggerrunner.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/debugger/debuggerrunner.cpp
@@ -131,8 +131,9 @@ DebuggerRunControl::DebuggerRunControl(DebuggerManager *manager,
         break;
     }
     if (const ProjectExplorer::Project *project = runConfiguration->project()) {
-        m_startParameters->buildDir =
-            project->activeBuildConfiguration()->buildDirectory();
+        if (project->activeBuildConfiguration())
+            m_startParameters->buildDir =
+                project->activeBuildConfiguration()->buildDirectory();
     }
     m_startParameters->useTerminal =
         runConfiguration->runMode() == LocalApplicationRunConfiguration::Console;