diff --git a/api/strategies/process.js b/api/strategies/process.js
index f5a12a26a2..570637eecd 100644
--- a/api/strategies/process.js
+++ b/api/strategies/process.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ const User = require('~/models/User');
  * '?manual=true', it updates the user's avatar with the provided URL. For local file storage, it directly updates
  * the avatar URL, while for other storage types, it processes the avatar URL using the specified file strategy.
  *
- * @param {User} oldUser - The existing user object that needs to be updated. Expected to have an 'avatar' property.
+ * @param {User} oldUser - The existing user object that needs to be updated.
  * @param {string} avatarUrl - The new avatar URL to be set for the user.
  *
  * @returns {Promise<void>}
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ const handleExistingUser = async (oldUser, avatarUrl) => {
   const fileStrategy = process.env.CDN_PROVIDER;
   const isLocal = fileStrategy === FileSources.local;
 
-  if (isLocal && !oldUser.avatar.includes('?manual=true')) {
+  if (isLocal && (oldUser.avatar === null || !oldUser.avatar.includes('?manual=true'))) {
     oldUser.avatar = avatarUrl;
     await oldUser.save();
-  } else if (!isLocal && !oldUser.avatar.includes('?manual=true')) {
+  } else if (!isLocal && (oldUser.avatar === null || !oldUser.avatar.includes('?manual=true'))) {
     const userId = oldUser._id;
     const newavatarUrl = await uploadAvatar({ userId, input: avatarUrl, fileStrategy });
     oldUser.avatar = newavatarUrl;