diff --git a/odoo/http.py b/odoo/http.py
index e66497ccdba..a0da09bb795 100644
--- a/odoo/http.py
+++ b/odoo/http.py
@@ -1491,7 +1491,7 @@ def db_filter(dbs, httprequest=None):
     if odoo.tools.config['dbfilter']:
         r = odoo.tools.config['dbfilter'].replace('%h', h).replace('%d', d)
         dbs = [i for i in dbs if re.match(r, i)]
-    else:
+    elif odoo.tools.config['db_name']:
         # In case --db-filter is not provided and --database is passed, Odoo will
         # use the value of --database as a comma seperated list of exposed databases.
         exposed_dbs = set(db.strip() for db in odoo.tools.config['db_name'].split(','))