diff --git a/vulnerabilities/migrations/0045_copy_qualifiers_to_qualifiers_temp.py b/vulnerabilities/migrations/0045_copy_qualifiers_to_qualifiers_temp.py
index 7d73b694f..06cb9694e 100644
--- a/vulnerabilities/migrations/0045_copy_qualifiers_to_qualifiers_temp.py
+++ b/vulnerabilities/migrations/0045_copy_qualifiers_to_qualifiers_temp.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ def copy_qualifiers(apps, schema_editor):
         updatables = []
         for package in Package.objects.all():
             qualifiers =package.qualifiers
-            normalized_string = normalize_qualifiers(qualifiers, encode=True)
+            normalized_string = normalize_qualifiers(qualifiers, encode=True) or ""
             package.qualifiers_temp = normalized_string
             updatables.append(package)