diff --git a/auth/src/main/java/com/firebase/ui/auth/data/remote/GitHubSignInHandler.java b/auth/src/main/java/com/firebase/ui/auth/data/remote/GitHubSignInHandler.java
index 8498f5b49..20992bc77 100644
--- a/auth/src/main/java/com/firebase/ui/auth/data/remote/GitHubSignInHandler.java
+++ b/auth/src/main/java/com/firebase/ui/auth/data/remote/GitHubSignInHandler.java
@@ -80,8 +80,15 @@ private static IdpResponse createIdpResponse(
 
     @Override
     protected void onCreate() {
-        List<String> permissions = new ArrayList<>(getArguments().getParams()
-                .getStringArrayList(ExtraConstants.GITHUB_PERMISSIONS));
+        List<String> permissions = getArguments().getParams()
+                .getStringArrayList(ExtraConstants.GITHUB_PERMISSIONS);
+
+        if (permissions == null) {
+            permissions = new ArrayList<>();
+        } else {
+            permissions = new ArrayList<>(permissions);
+        }
+
         if (!permissions.contains(EMAIL_PERMISSION)) {
             permissions.add(EMAIL_PERMISSION);
         }