diff --git a/libavutil/log.c b/libavutil/log.c
index 49dd4d1897..bdb4be0f91 100644
--- a/libavutil/log.c
+++ b/libavutil/log.c
@@ -101,6 +101,9 @@ static int use_color = -1;
 
 static void colored_fputs(int level, const char *str)
 {
+    if (!*str)
+        return;
+
     if (use_color < 0) {
 #if HAVE_SETCONSOLETEXTATTRIBUTE
         CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO con_info;