diff --git a/modules/update/update.fetch.inc b/modules/update/update.fetch.inc
index 5cf70f3..4089f4e 100644
--- a/modules/update/update.fetch.inc
+++ b/modules/update/update.fetch.inc
@@ -253,8 +253,10 @@ class update_xml_parser {
         $this->current_object = &$this->current_release;
         break;
       default:
-        $this->current_object[strtolower($this->current_tag)] = trim($this->current_object[strtolower($this->current_tag)]);
-        $this->current_tag = '';
+        if ($this->current_tag !== '') {
+          $this->current_object[strtolower($this->current_tag)] = trim($this->current_object[strtolower($this->current_tag)]);
+          $this->current_tag = '';
+        }
     }
   }