diff --git a/Classes/ViewHelpers/Menu/AbstractMenuViewHelper.php b/Classes/ViewHelpers/Menu/AbstractMenuViewHelper.php
index ad5163316..1e7209666 100644
--- a/Classes/ViewHelpers/Menu/AbstractMenuViewHelper.php
+++ b/Classes/ViewHelpers/Menu/AbstractMenuViewHelper.php
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ public function render()
         $menu = $this->parseMenu($pages);
         $rootLine = $this->pageService->getRootLine(
             $this->arguments['pageUid'],
-            $this->arguments['reverse'],
+            $this->arguments['reverse'] ?? false,
             $this->arguments['showAccessProtected']
         );
         $this->cleanupSubmenuVariables();