diff --git a/wolfcrypt/src/pkcs7.c b/wolfcrypt/src/pkcs7.c
index babb7b9dd..84f5e3885 100644
--- a/wolfcrypt/src/pkcs7.c
+++ b/wolfcrypt/src/pkcs7.c
@@ -1016,7 +1016,7 @@ WOLFSSL_LOCAL int wc_CreateRecipientInfo(const byte* cert, word32 certSz,
     issuerSz    = decoded->issuerRawLen;
     issuerSeqSz = SetSequence(issuerSz, issuerSeq);
 
-    if (decoded->serial == NULL || decoded->serialSz == 0) {
+    if (decoded->serialSz == 0) {
         WOLFSSL_MSG("DecodedCert missing serial number");
         FreeDecodedCert(decoded);
 #ifdef WOLFSSL_SMALL_STACK