diff --git a/src/servers/app/font/FontCacheEntry.cpp b/src/servers/app/font/FontCacheEntry.cpp
index 39b64d295e..fd2428d891 100644
--- a/src/servers/app/font/FontCacheEntry.cpp
+++ b/src/servers/app/font/FontCacheEntry.cpp
@@ -304,7 +304,8 @@ FontCacheEntry::CreateGlyph(uint32 glyphCode, FontCacheEntry* fallbackEntry)
 			// get the normal space glyph
 			glyphIndex = engine->GlyphIndexForGlyphCode(0x20 /* space */);
 		} else {
-			// render the "missing glyph box" (by simply keeping glyphIndex 0)
+			// The glyph was not found anywhere.
+			return NULL;
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/servers/app/font/GlyphLayoutEngine.h b/src/servers/app/font/GlyphLayoutEngine.h
index 8ed8d198a2..963c0ca6e4 100644
--- a/src/servers/app/font/GlyphLayoutEngine.h
+++ b/src/servers/app/font/GlyphLayoutEngine.h
@@ -309,9 +309,15 @@ GlyphLayoutEngine::_WriteLockAndAcquireFallbackEntry(
 	// glyphs from it. We need to obtain the fallback font while we have not
 	// locked anything, since locking the FontManager with the write-lock held
 	// can obvisouly lead to a deadlock.
+	
+	bool writeLocked = entry->IsWriteLocked();
 
-	cacheReference.SetTo(NULL, false);
-	entry->ReadUnlock();
+	if (writeLocked) {
+		entry->WriteUnlock();
+	} else {
+		cacheReference.SetTo(NULL, false);
+		entry->ReadUnlock();
+	}
 
 	if (gFontManager->Lock()) {
 		// TODO: We always get the fallback glyphs from VL Gothic at the
@@ -342,8 +348,10 @@ GlyphLayoutEngine::_WriteLockAndAcquireFallbackEntry(
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	// Update the FontCacheReference, since the locking kind changed.
-	cacheReference.SetTo(entry, true);
+	if (!writeLocked) {
+		// Update the FontCacheReference, since the locking kind changed.
+		cacheReference.SetTo(entry, true);
+	}
 	return true;
 }