diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/com/sun/faces/application/view/MultiViewHandler.java b/impl/src/main/java/com/sun/faces/application/view/MultiViewHandler.java
index 439265168d..31f40a6046 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/com/sun/faces/application/view/MultiViewHandler.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/com/sun/faces/application/view/MultiViewHandler.java
@@ -458,6 +458,10 @@ protected String derivePhysicalViewId(FacesContext ctx, String requestViewId, bo
      * @since 1.2
      */
     protected String normalizeRequestURI(String viewId, String mapping) {
+        if (mapping.isEmpty()) {
+            return viewId;
+        }
+        
         boolean logged = false;
 
         while (viewId.startsWith(mapping)) {