diff --git a/kernel/bpf/btf.c b/kernel/bpf/btf.c
index df5f0d059ad1..85ae92c920e4 100644
--- a/kernel/bpf/btf.c
+++ b/kernel/bpf/btf.c
@@ -2925,7 +2925,15 @@ static void btf_var_show(const struct btf *btf, const struct btf_type *t,
 			 u32 type_id, void *data, u8 bits_offset,
 			 struct btf_show *show)
 {
-	t = btf_type_id_resolve(btf, &type_id);
+	/*
+	 * btf_type_id_resolve() dereferences btf->resolved_ids, which is NULL
+	 * for a base BTF (e.g. the vmlinux BTF that bpf_snprintf_btf() uses).
+	 * Resolve the var's type directly in that case.
+	 */
+	if (btf->resolved_ids)
+		t = btf_type_id_resolve(btf, &type_id);
+	else
+		t = btf_type_skip_modifiers(btf, t->type, &type_id);
 
 	btf_type_ops(t)->show(btf, t, type_id, data, bits_offset, show);
 }