diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/PropertyAccessor.php b/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/PropertyAccessor.php
index 252ad6896d..92caf1e826 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/PropertyAccessor.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/PropertyAccessor.php
@@ -117,10 +117,15 @@ class PropertyAccessor implements PropertyAccessorInterface
 
             $property = $propertyPath->getElement($i);
             $isIndex = $propertyPath->isIndex($i);
-            $isArrayAccess = is_array($objectOrArray) || $objectOrArray instanceof \ArrayAccess;
 
             // Create missing nested arrays on demand
-            if ($isIndex && $isArrayAccess && !isset($objectOrArray[$property])) {
+            if (
+                $isIndex &&
+                (
+                    ($objectOrArray instanceof \ArrayAccess && !isset($objectOrArray[$property])) ||
+                    (is_array($objectOrArray) && !array_key_exists($property, $objectOrArray))
+                )
+            ) {
                 $objectOrArray[$property] = $i + 1 < $propertyPath->getLength() ? array() : null;
             }
 
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/Tests/PropertyAccessorTest.php b/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/Tests/PropertyAccessorTest.php
index 572f123bd9..ca49be6012 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/Tests/PropertyAccessorTest.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/PropertyAccess/Tests/PropertyAccessorTest.php
@@ -221,6 +221,12 @@ class PropertyAccessorTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
         $this->propertyAccessor->getValue('', 'foobar');
     }
 
+    public function testGetValueWhenArrayValueIsNull()
+    {
+        $this->propertyAccessor = new PropertyAccessor(false, true);
+        $this->assertNull($this->propertyAccessor->getValue(array('index' => array('nullable' => null)), '[index][nullable]'));
+    }
+
     public function testSetValueUpdatesArrays()
     {
         $array = array();