diff --git a/factory/gen.go b/factory/gen.go
index 1982932..6922f51 100644
--- a/factory/gen.go
+++ b/factory/gen.go
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ func populateCN(secret *v1.Secret, cn ...string) *v1.Secret {
 // IsStatic returns true if the Secret has an attribute indicating that it contains
 // a static (aka user-provided) certificate, which should not be modified.
 func IsStatic(secret *v1.Secret) bool {
-	if secret.Annotations != nil {
+	if secret != nil && secret.Annotations != nil {
 		return secret.Annotations[Static] == "true"
 	}
 	return false