diff --git a/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb b/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb
index 7dd9594ce6807831ca6f65ed9b7604427d1f2409..ae609021eb6595402dddd90073d6b7005cee5294 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/git_access.rb
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ module Gitlab
     end
 
     def check(cmd, changes = nil)
-      raise 'Access denied due to unspecified Git access protocol' unless protocol
+      raise 'Access denied due to unspecified Git access protocol' unless protocol.present?
 
       return build_status_object(false, "Git access over #{protocol.upcase} is not allowed") unless protocol_allowed?