diff --git a/felix/routetable/route_table.go b/felix/routetable/route_table.go
index 7641e88d4f7..17eef330dfc 100644
--- a/felix/routetable/route_table.go
+++ b/felix/routetable/route_table.go
@@ -1035,6 +1035,10 @@ func (r *RouteTable) syncL2RoutesForLink(ifaceName string) error {
 	var updatesFailed bool
 
 	for _, existing := range existingNeigh {
+		if existing.HardwareAddr == nil {
+			log.WithField("neighbor", existing).Debug("Ignoring existing ARP entry with no hardware addr")
+			continue
+		}
 		if _, ok := expected[existing.HardwareAddr.String()]; !ok {
 			logCxt.WithField("neighbor", existing).Debug("Neighbor should no longer be programmed")