diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index b0353b142..70081fa50 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # Nmap Changelog ($Id$); -*-text-*-
 
+o [NSE] Fixed bug that would prevent brute scripts from running if no service
+  field was present in the port table. [Patrik]
+
 o [NSE] Added the scripts bitcoin-info, bitcoin-getaddr and a supporting
   Bitcoin library. The script bitcoin-info retrieves information about the
   remote server, while the bitcoin-getaddr script retrieves a list of
diff --git a/nselib/brute.lua b/nselib/brute.lua
index e94eb9495..673ff1e23 100644
--- a/nselib/brute.lua
+++ b/nselib/brute.lua
@@ -604,7 +604,8 @@ Engine =
 		local condvar = nmap.condvar( cvar )
 		
 		assert(self.options.script_name, "SCRIPT_NAME was not set in options.script_name")
-		assert(self.port.number and self.port.protocol and self.port.service, "Invalid port table detected")
+		assert(self.port.number and self.port.protocol, "Invalid port table detected")
+		self.port.service = self.port.service or "unknown"
 		
 		-- Only run the check method if it exist. We should phase this out
 		-- in favor of a check in the action function of the script