diff --git a/core/polyfills.php b/core/polyfills.php
index 08e7a01c..d9dc50ac 100644
--- a/core/polyfills.php
+++ b/core/polyfills.php
@@ -308,9 +308,10 @@ function get_base_href(): string
     }
     if(str_ends_with($_SERVER['PHP_SELF'], 'index.php')) {
         $self = $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
-    }
-    elseif(isset($_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME']) && isset($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'])) {
+    } elseif(isset($_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME']) && isset($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'])) {
         $self = substr($_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'], strlen(rtrim($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'], "/")));
+    } else {
+        die("PHP_SELF or SCRIPT_FILENAME need to be set");
     }
     $dir = dirname($self);
     $dir = str_replace("\\", "/", $dir);
diff --git a/core/tests/PolyfillsTest.php b/core/tests/PolyfillsTest.php
index aa43c4da..91fe64e1 100644
--- a/core/tests/PolyfillsTest.php
+++ b/core/tests/PolyfillsTest.php
@@ -255,6 +255,9 @@ class PolyfillsTest extends TestCase
         $this->assertFalse(file_exists($dir));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @param array<string, string> $vars
+     */
     private function _tbh(array $vars, string $result): void
     {
         // update $_SERVER with $vars, call get_base_href() and check result, then reset $_SERVER to original value
diff --git a/core/util.php b/core/util.php
index cbdaead7..67a3403c 100644
--- a/core/util.php
+++ b/core/util.php
@@ -736,12 +736,12 @@ function _get_query(): string
     }
 
     // if we're just looking at index.php, use the default query
-    if(str_ends_with($parts["path"], "index.php")) {
+    if(str_ends_with($parts["path"] ?? "", "index.php")) {
         return "/";
     }
 
     // otherwise, use the request URI minus the base path
-    return substr($parts["path"], strlen(get_base_href()));
+    return substr($parts["path"] ?? "", strlen(get_base_href()));
 }