diff --git a/api/src/main/java/org/jboss/seam/faces/component/UIInputContainer.java b/api/src/main/java/org/jboss/seam/faces/component/UIInputContainer.java
index ee389eb..cc0e7b8 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/org/jboss/seam/faces/component/UIInputContainer.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/org/jboss/seam/faces/component/UIInputContainer.java
@@ -412,9 +412,11 @@ private boolean isRequiredByConstraint(final EditableValueHolder input, final Va
             if (valueExpression != null) {
                 ValueExpressionAnalyzer valueExpressionAnalyzer = new ValueExpressionAnalyzer(valueExpression);
                 ValueReference vref = valueExpressionAnalyzer.getValueReference(context.getELContext());
-                BeanDescriptor constraintsForClass = validator.getConstraintsForClass(vref.getBase().getClass());
-                PropertyDescriptor d = constraintsForClass.getConstraintsForProperty((String) vref.getProperty());
-                return (d != null) && d.hasConstraints();
+                if (vref != null) { // valueExpressionAnalyzer can return a null value. The condition prevents a NPE
+                    BeanDescriptor constraintsForClass = validator.getConstraintsForClass(vref.getBase().getClass());
+                    PropertyDescriptor d = constraintsForClass.getConstraintsForProperty((String) vref.getProperty());
+                    return (d != null) && d.hasConstraints();
+                }
             }
             return false;
         }