diff --git a/lib/object.c b/lib/object.c
index b1ebe51..9293df9 100644
--- a/lib/object.c
+++ b/lib/object.c
@@ -321,8 +321,10 @@ int nl_object_identical(struct nl_object *a, struct nl_object *b)
 		if (req_attrs_a != req_attrs_b)
 			return 0;
 		req_attrs = req_attrs_a;
-	} else {
+	} else if (ops->oo_id_attrs) {
 		req_attrs = ops->oo_id_attrs;
+	} else {
+		req_attrs = 0xFFFFFFFF;
 	}
 	if (req_attrs == 0xFFFFFFFF)
 		req_attrs = a->ce_mask & b->ce_mask;