diff --git a/notebook/notebookapp.py b/notebook/notebookapp.py
index 839102cddb..3985316f09 100755
--- a/notebook/notebookapp.py
+++ b/notebook/notebookapp.py
@@ -1206,7 +1206,7 @@ def init_terminals(self):
             log("Terminals not available (error was %s)", e)
 
     def init_signal(self):
-        if not sys.platform.startswith('win') and sys.stdin.isatty():
+        if not sys.platform.startswith('win') and sys.stdin and sys.stdin.isatty():
             signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, self._handle_sigint)
         signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, self._signal_stop)
         if hasattr(signal, 'SIGUSR1'):