diff --git a/lib/jekyll/filters.rb b/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
index 6d4d7310..997a0f5d 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ module Jekyll
     #
     # Returns the escaped String.
     def xml_escape(input)
-      CGI.escapeHTML(input)
+      CGI.escapeHTML(input.to_s)
     end
 
     # CGI escape a string for use in a URL. Replaces any special characters
diff --git a/test/test_filters.rb b/test/test_filters.rb
index 8c6e0259..67bcd096 100644
--- a/test/test_filters.rb
+++ b/test/test_filters.rb
@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ class TestFilters < Test::Unit::TestCase
       assert_equal "&lt;code&gt;command &amp;lt;filename&amp;gt;&lt;/code&gt;", @filter.xml_escape("<code>command &lt;filename&gt;</code>")
     end
 
+    should "not error when xml escaping nil" do
+      assert_equal "", @filter.xml_escape(nil)
+    end
+
     should "escape space as plus" do
       assert_equal "my+things", @filter.cgi_escape("my things")
     end