diff --git a/devtools/maven/src/main/java/io/quarkus/maven/QuarkusBootstrapProvider.java b/devtools/maven/src/main/java/io/quarkus/maven/QuarkusBootstrapProvider.java
index acd1662778981..c5d3b5ccb613f 100644
--- a/devtools/maven/src/main/java/io/quarkus/maven/QuarkusBootstrapProvider.java
+++ b/devtools/maven/src/main/java/io/quarkus/maven/QuarkusBootstrapProvider.java
@@ -197,8 +197,11 @@ private CuratedApplication doBootstrap(QuarkusBootstrapMojo mojo, LaunchMode mod
             effectiveProperties.putIfAbsent("quarkus.application.version", mojo.mavenProject().getVersion());
 
             for (Map.Entry<String, String> attribute : mojo.manifestEntries().entrySet()) {
-                effectiveProperties.put(toManifestAttributeKey(attribute.getKey()),
-                        attribute.getValue());
+                if (attribute.getValue() == null) {
+                    mojo.getLog().warn("Skipping manifest entry property " + attribute.getKey() + " with a missing value");
+                } else {
+                    effectiveProperties.put(toManifestAttributeKey(attribute.getKey()), attribute.getValue());
+                }
             }
             for (ManifestSection section : mojo.manifestSections()) {
                 for (Map.Entry<String, String> attribute : section.getManifestEntries().entrySet()) {