diff --git a/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java b/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java
index dbefc9d0f9c03..23ed590716f48 100644
--- a/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java
+++ b/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java
@@ -323,7 +323,12 @@ public String getTitle() {
   }
 
   public String getCurrentUrl() {
-    return execute(DriverCommand.GET_CURRENT_URL).getValue().toString();
+    Response response = execute(DriverCommand.GET_CURRENT_URL);
+    if (response == null || response.getValue() == null) {
+      throw new WebDriverException("Remote browser did not respond to getCurrentUrl");
+    } else {
+      return response.getValue().toString();
+    }
   }
 
   public <X> X getScreenshotAs(OutputType<X> outputType) throws WebDriverException {