diff --git a/pkg/resources/fluentd/outputsecret.go b/pkg/resources/fluentd/outputsecret.go
index 0cd97f858..f50497024 100644
--- a/pkg/resources/fluentd/outputsecret.go
+++ b/pkg/resources/fluentd/outputsecret.go
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 func (r *Reconciler) markSecrets(secrets *secret.MountSecrets) ([]runtime.Object, reconciler.DesiredState, error) {
+	if secrets == nil {
+		return nil, reconciler.StateAbsent, nil
+	}
+
 	var loggingRef string
 	if r.Logging.Spec.LoggingRef != "" {
 		loggingRef = r.Logging.Spec.LoggingRef
@@ -36,6 +40,7 @@ func (r *Reconciler) markSecrets(secrets *secret.MountSecrets) ([]runtime.Object
 	}
 	annotationKey := fmt.Sprintf("logging.banzaicloud.io/%s", loggingRef)
 	var markedSecrets []runtime.Object
+
 	for _, secret := range *secrets {
 		secretItem := &corev1.Secret{}
 		err := r.Client.Get(context.TODO(), types.NamespacedName{
@@ -51,6 +56,7 @@ func (r *Reconciler) markSecrets(secrets *secret.MountSecrets) ([]runtime.Object
 		secretItem.ObjectMeta.Annotations[annotationKey] = "watched"
 		markedSecrets = append(markedSecrets, secretItem)
 	}
+
 	return markedSecrets, reconciler.StatePresent, nil
 }
 
@@ -65,8 +71,12 @@ func (r *Reconciler) outputSecret(secrets *secret.MountSecrets, mountPath string
 	if fluentOutputSecret.Data == nil {
 		fluentOutputSecret.Data = make(map[string][]byte)
 	}
-	for _, secret := range *secrets {
-		fluentOutputSecret.Data[secret.MappedKey] = secret.Value
+
+	if secrets != nil {
+		for _, secret := range *secrets {
+			fluentOutputSecret.Data[secret.MappedKey] = secret.Value
+		}
 	}
+
 	return fluentOutputSecret, reconciler.StatePresent, nil
 }