diff --git a/src/api/embed_helpers.cc b/src/api/embed_helpers.cc
index c1bcb3948c4c..391ffe2b334b 100644
--- a/src/api/embed_helpers.cc
+++ b/src/api/embed_helpers.cc
@@ -317,8 +317,13 @@ void EmbedderSnapshotData::DeleteSnapshotData::operator()(
 }
 
 EmbedderSnapshotData::Pointer EmbedderSnapshotData::BuiltinSnapshotData() {
-  return EmbedderSnapshotData::Pointer{new EmbedderSnapshotData(
-      SnapshotBuilder::GetEmbeddedSnapshotData(), false)};
+  const SnapshotData* snapshot_data =
+      SnapshotBuilder::GetEmbeddedSnapshotData();
+  if (snapshot_data == nullptr) {
+    return {};
+  }
+  return EmbedderSnapshotData::Pointer{
+      new EmbedderSnapshotData(snapshot_data, false)};
 }
 
 EmbedderSnapshotData::Pointer EmbedderSnapshotData::FromBlob(
diff --git a/src/node.h b/src/node.h
index 32a9806ae848..887f2acdee2b 100644
--- a/src/node.h
+++ b/src/node.h
@@ -492,7 +492,8 @@ class EmbedderSnapshotData {
 
   // Return an EmbedderSnapshotData object that refers to the built-in
   // snapshot of Node.js. This can have been configured through e.g.
-  // --node-snapshot-main=entry.js.
+  // --node-snapshot-main=entry.js. If Node.js was built without a built-in
+  // snapshot, this returns an empty pointer.
   static Pointer BuiltinSnapshotData();
 
   // Return an EmbedderSnapshotData object that is based on an input file.