diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4bccdbe672..b53cb18de5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## 1.0.1 (unreleased)
 
-FEATURES:
+IMPROVEMENTS:
 
  * cli: Strip iTerm extra characters from password manager input [GH-5837]
  * ui: Added ability to search for Group and Policy IDs when creating Groups
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ FEATURES:
 BUG FIXES:
 
  * cli: Show correct stored keys/threshold for autoseals [GH-5910]
+ * cli: Fix backwards compatibility fallback when listing plugins [GH-5913]
  * namespaces: Correctly reload the proper mount when tuning or reloading the
    mount [GH-5937]
  * secret/pki: Fix panic that could occur during tidy operation when malformed
diff --git a/api/sys_plugins.go b/api/sys_plugins.go
index b1ffcb24b0..d8881b2f48 100644
--- a/api/sys_plugins.go
+++ b/api/sys_plugins.go
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ func (c *Sys) ListPlugins(i *ListPluginsInput) (*ListPluginsResponse, error) {
 	if err != nil && resp == nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	if resp == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
 	// We received an Unsupported Operation response from Vault, indicating
diff --git a/command/base_predict.go b/command/base_predict.go
index a434b2a22f..51284343cd 100644
--- a/command/base_predict.go
+++ b/command/base_predict.go
@@ -353,6 +353,9 @@ func (p *Predict) plugins(pluginTypes ...consts.PluginType) []string {
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil
 		}
+		if result == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
 		for _, names := range result.PluginsByType {
 			for _, name := range names {
 				if _, ok := pluginsAdded[name]; !ok {
diff --git a/command/plugin_list.go b/command/plugin_list.go
index e6f34b80ba..8ed9da9b90 100644
--- a/command/plugin_list.go
+++ b/command/plugin_list.go
@@ -96,6 +96,10 @@ func (c *PluginListCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 		c.UI.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error listing available plugins: %s", err))
 		return 2
 	}
+	if resp == nil {
+		c.UI.Error("No response from server when listing plugins")
+		return 2
+	}
 
 	switch Format(c.UI) {
 	case "table":