diff --git a/src/expression.c b/src/expression.c
index efeef478d300..f443ea3d1bff 100644
--- a/src/expression.c
+++ b/src/expression.c
@@ -7097,7 +7097,7 @@ Expression *DotVarExp::semantic(Scope *sc)
             if (e)
                 return e;
 
-            if (v->isDataseg())     // fix bugzilla 8238
+            if (v && v->isDataseg())     // fix bugzilla 8238
             {
                 // (e1, v)
                 accessCheck(loc, sc, e1, v);
diff --git a/test/fail_compilation/ice9545.d b/test/fail_compilation/ice9545.d
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..45dd195197f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fail_compilation/ice9545.d
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/*
+TEST_OUTPUT:
+----
+fail_compilation/ice9545.d(12): Error: T is not a field, but a alias
+----
+*/
+
+struct S { template T(X) { alias T = X; } }
+
+void main()
+{
+    auto x1 = S.init.T!int; // ICE
+}