1 files changed, 1 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/base/util/src/netscape/security/x509/Extension.java b/base/util/src/netscape/security/x509/Extension.java
index c7b0aa887..43bbafe81 100644
--- a/base/util/src/netscape/security/x509/Extension.java
+++ b/base/util/src/netscape/security/x509/Extension.java
@@ -123,11 +123,10 @@ public class Extension implements Serializable {
      * @exception IOException on encoding errors
      */
     public void encode(DerOutputStream out) throws IOException {
-        DerOutputStream bytes = new DerOutputStream();
-
         if (extensionId == null)
             throw new IOException("Null OID to encode for the extension!");
 
+        DerOutputStream bytes = new DerOutputStream();
         bytes.putOID(extensionId);
         if (critical)
             bytes.putBoolean(critical);