diff --git a/includes/theme.inc b/includes/theme.inc
index 2f07c2633490089a26058f9fed41ab65cf66ca8e..e6c1f596d69d0fd157b7285a3e8cef2859331584 100644
--- a/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/includes/theme.inc
@@ -2105,9 +2105,8 @@ function _template_preprocess_default_variables() {
     'logged_in' => FALSE,
   );
 
-  // user_access() does not exist when the database is not available because
-  // user.module has not been included.
-  if (function_exists('user_access')) {
+  // The user object has no uid property when the database does not exist.
+  if (isset($user->uid)) {
     $variables['is_admin'] = user_access('access administration pages');
     $variables['logged_in'] = ($user->uid > 0);
   }