diff --git a/updater/lib/dependabot/file_fetcher_job.rb b/updater/lib/dependabot/file_fetcher_job.rb
index 0dbad8f38db..90a28c57efc 100644
--- a/updater/lib/dependabot/file_fetcher_job.rb
+++ b/updater/lib/dependabot/file_fetcher_job.rb
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ def perform_job
       begin
         connectivity_check if ENV["ENABLE_CONNECTIVITY_CHECK"] == "1"
         clone_repo_contents
-        @base_commit_sha = file_fetcher.commit || "unknown"
+        @base_commit_sha = file_fetcher.commit
+        raise "base commit SHA not found" unless @base_commit_sha
+
         dependency_files
       rescue StandardError => e
         @base_commit_sha ||= "unknown"