diff --git a/server-spi/src/main/java/org/keycloak/models/credential/dto/PasswordSecretData.java b/server-spi/src/main/java/org/keycloak/models/credential/dto/PasswordSecretData.java
index 33fc545569..dec870c5ef 100644
--- a/server-spi/src/main/java/org/keycloak/models/credential/dto/PasswordSecretData.java
+++ b/server-spi/src/main/java/org/keycloak/models/credential/dto/PasswordSecretData.java
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ public class PasswordSecretData {
 
     @JsonCreator
     public PasswordSecretData(@JsonProperty("value") String value, @JsonProperty("salt") String salt) throws IOException {
-        if ("__SALT__".equals(salt)) {
+        if (salt == null || "__SALT__".equals(salt)) {
             this.value = value;
             this.salt = null;
         }