diff --git a/external-providers/java-external-provider/pkg/java_external_provider/provider.go b/external-providers/java-external-provider/pkg/java_external_provider/provider.go
index 165c9bcf..1931593a 100644
--- a/external-providers/java-external-provider/pkg/java_external_provider/provider.go
+++ b/external-providers/java-external-provider/pkg/java_external_provider/provider.go
@@ -321,9 +321,11 @@ func (p *javaProvider) Init(ctx context.Context, log logr.Logger, config provide
 	additionalBuiltinConfig.Location = config.Location
 	additionalBuiltinConfig.DependencyPath = config.DependencyPath
 
-	// handle proxy settings
-	for k, v := range config.Proxy.ToEnvVars() {
-		os.Setenv(k, v)
+	if config.Proxy != nil {
+		// handle proxy settings
+		for k, v := range config.Proxy.ToEnvVars() {
+			os.Setenv(k, v)
+		}
 	}
 
 	args := []string{