diff --git a/confluent_server/confluent/auth.py b/confluent_server/confluent/auth.py
index 6ded2e70..ce8cfd49 100644
--- a/confluent_server/confluent/auth.py
+++ b/confluent_server/confluent/auth.py
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ def authorize(name, element, tenant=False, operation='create',
         return False
     manager = configmanager.ConfigManager(tenant, username=user)
     userobj = manager.get_user(user)
-    if element.startswith('/sessions/current/webauthn/registered_credentials/') or  element.startswith('/sessions/current/webauthn/validate/'):
+    if element and (element.startswith('/sessions/current/webauthn/registered_credentials/') or  element.startswith('/sessions/current/webauthn/validate/')):
         return userobj, manager, user, tenant, skipuserobj
     if userobj and userobj.get('role', None) == 'Stub':
         userobj = None