diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gcube/portlets/widgets/wsexplorer/server/ItemBuilder.java b/src/main/java/org/gcube/portlets/widgets/wsexplorer/server/ItemBuilder.java
index cb96b28..45b8a75 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gcube/portlets/widgets/wsexplorer/server/ItemBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gcube/portlets/widgets/wsexplorer/server/ItemBuilder.java
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ public class ItemBuilder {
 			return itemMap;
 		}catch (Exception e) {
 			_log.warn("An error occurred during get properties for item: "+item.getId()+", returning null");
-			return null;
+			return new HashMap<String, String>();
 		}
 	}