diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c9224d0d0c..68f77d99e6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ Framer Motion adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 
 Undocumented APIs should be considered internal and may change without warning.
 
+## [10.17.8] 2024-02-05
+
+### Fixed
+
+-   Adding `null` safeguard for `useAnimationControls`.
+
 ## [10.17.7] 2024-02-05
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/packages/framer-motion/src/animation/utils/is-animation-controls.ts b/packages/framer-motion/src/animation/utils/is-animation-controls.ts
index d715851309..fcc61b1e44 100644
--- a/packages/framer-motion/src/animation/utils/is-animation-controls.ts
+++ b/packages/framer-motion/src/animation/utils/is-animation-controls.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 import { AnimationControls } from "../types"
 
 export function isAnimationControls(v?: unknown): v is AnimationControls {
-    return typeof v === "object" && typeof (v as any).start === "function"
+    return (
+        v !== null &&
+        typeof v === "object" &&
+        typeof (v as AnimationControls).start === "function"
+    )
 }
diff --git a/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/is-ref-object.ts b/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/is-ref-object.ts
index 9c253d7baf..3c0d58e84f 100644
--- a/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/is-ref-object.ts
+++ b/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/is-ref-object.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { MutableRefObject } from "./safe-react-types"
 
 export function isRefObject<E = any>(ref: any): ref is MutableRefObject<E> {
     return (
+        ref &&
         typeof ref === "object" &&
         Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(ref, "current")
     )
diff --git a/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/transform.ts b/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/transform.ts
index b0947b93a1..1d43de77a1 100644
--- a/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/transform.ts
+++ b/packages/framer-motion/src/utils/transform.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ export interface TransformOptions<T> {
 }
 
 const isCustomValueType = (v: any): v is CustomValueType => {
-    return typeof v === "object" && v.mix
+    return v && typeof v === "object" && v.mix
 }
 
 const getMixer = (v: any) => (isCustomValueType(v) ? v.mix : undefined)