diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4aba19c7e0..5c1c40fc19 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Fixes
+* fix panic when renaming or updating remote URL with no remotes configured [[@xvchris](https://github.com/xvchris)] ([#2868](https://github.com/gitui-org/gitui/issues/2868))
+
 ## [0.28.0] - 2025-12-14
 
 **discard changes on checkout**
diff --git a/src/popups/remotelist.rs b/src/popups/remotelist.rs
index 0630e35fb5..f825cddbdd 100644
--- a/src/popups/remotelist.rs
+++ b/src/popups/remotelist.rs
@@ -146,12 +146,14 @@ impl Component for RemoteListPopup {
 			} else if key_match(
 				e,
 				self.key_config.keys.update_remote_name,
-			) {
+			) && self.valid_selection()
+			{
 				self.rename_remote();
 			} else if key_match(
 				e,
 				self.key_config.keys.update_remote_url,
-			) {
+			) && self.valid_selection()
+			{
 				self.update_remote_url();
 			}
 		}