diff --git a/libavutil/log.c b/libavutil/log.c
index 56ef53b378..fa65b9f02f 100644
--- a/libavutil/log.c
+++ b/libavutil/log.c
@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ 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;