diff --git a/config/database.php b/config/database.php
index f4af35dec9..c3098f029d 100644
--- a/config/database.php
+++ b/config/database.php
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ $mysql_ssl_ciphers = envNonEmpty('MYSQL_SSL_CIPHER', null);
 $mysql_ssl_verify  = envNonEmpty('MYSQL_SSL_VERIFY_SERVER_CERT', null);
 
 $mySqlSSLOptions = [];
-if (false !== envNonEmpty('MYSQL_USE_SSL', false)) {
+$useSSL = envNonEmpty('MYSQL_USE_SSL', false);
+if (false !== $useSSL && null !== $useSSL) {
     if (null !== $mysql_ssl_ca_dir) {
         $mySqlSSLOptions[PDO::MYSQL_ATTR_SSL_CAPATH] = $mysql_ssl_ca_dir;
     }