diff --git a/src/libadmin/test/afscp.c b/src/libadmin/test/afscp.c
index bb21a3edea..61b2cc648f 100644
--- a/src/libadmin/test/afscp.c
+++ b/src/libadmin/test/afscp.c
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ MyBeforeProc(struct cmd_syndesc *as, void *arock)
     char auth_cell[MAXCELLCHARS];
     char exec_cell[MAXCELLCHARS];
 
+    if (as->nParms < USER_PARAM)
+	return 0;	/* no authentication parms defined for this subcommand */
+
     /*
      * Check what kind of authentication is necessary based upon
      * the arguments passed