diff --git a/components/engine/daemon/daemon.go b/components/engine/daemon/daemon.go
index 5b75aa1199..43e0aabcd5 100644
--- a/components/engine/daemon/daemon.go
+++ b/components/engine/daemon/daemon.go
@@ -1003,7 +1003,7 @@ func getDefaultRouteMtu() (int, error) {
 		return 0, err
 	}
 	for _, r := range routes {
-		if r.Default {
+		if r.Default && r.Iface != nil {
 			return r.Iface.MTU, nil
 		}
 	}