diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/ProjectConfig.java b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/ProjectConfig.java
index 8bd8c0f435..b6d50ee31d 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/ProjectConfig.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/git/ProjectConfig.java
@@ -751,6 +751,10 @@ public class ProjectConfig extends VersionedMetaData {
     if (value == null) {
       return null;
     }
+    value = value.trim();
+    if (value.isEmpty()) {
+      return null;
+    }
     Config cfg = new Config();
     cfg.fromText("[s]\nn=" + value);
     try {