diff --git a/wolfcrypt/src/chacha20_poly1305.c b/wolfcrypt/src/chacha20_poly1305.c
index f3ebb52ff9..2a8228adf4 100644
--- a/wolfcrypt/src/chacha20_poly1305.c
+++ b/wolfcrypt/src/chacha20_poly1305.c
@@ -74,8 +74,10 @@ int wc_ChaCha20Poly1305_Encrypt(
             inPlaintextLen);
     if (ret == 0)
         ret = wc_ChaCha20Poly1305_Final(aead, outAuthTag);
-
-    ForceZero(aead, sizeof(ChaChaPoly_Aead));
+    #ifdef WOLFSSL_SMALL_STACK
+    if (aead != NULL)
+    #endif
+        ForceZero(aead, sizeof(ChaChaPoly_Aead));
     WC_FREE_VAR_EX(aead, NULL, DYNAMIC_TYPE_TMP_BUFFER);
 
     return ret;