diff --git a/pluto-container/src/main/java/org/apache/pluto/container/impl/PortletAppDescriptorServiceImpl.java b/pluto-container/src/main/java/org/apache/pluto/container/impl/PortletAppDescriptorServiceImpl.java
index b556423..09a501b 100644
--- a/pluto-container/src/main/java/org/apache/pluto/container/impl/PortletAppDescriptorServiceImpl.java
+++ b/pluto-container/src/main/java/org/apache/pluto/container/impl/PortletAppDescriptorServiceImpl.java
@@ -199,6 +199,10 @@
      */
     public PortletApplicationDefinition read(String name, String contextPath, InputStream in) throws IOException 
     {
+        if (in == null) {
+            throw new IOException("Cannot read from a null InputStream");
+        }
+        
         final XMLInputFactory xmlInputFactory = getXmlInputFactory();
         
         //Generate an xml stream reader for the input stream