diff --git a/src/wp-includes/author-template.php b/src/wp-includes/author-template.php
index b7361a0244..80fd6166ba 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/author-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/author-template.php
@@ -206,7 +206,11 @@ function the_author_link() {
  * @return int The number of posts by the author.
  */
 function get_the_author_posts() {
-	return count_user_posts( get_post()->post_author );
+	$post = get_post();
+	if ( ! $post ) {
+		return 0;
+	}
+	return count_user_posts( $post->post_author );
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/user/author.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/user/author.php
index 67b9aba756..8646a9ba42 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/user/author.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/user/author.php
@@ -75,4 +75,11 @@ class Tests_User_Author extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 		$this->assertEquals( '', get_the_author_meta( 'user_login' ) );
 		$this->assertEquals( '', get_the_author_meta( 'does_not_exist' ) );
 	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+
+	function test_get_the_author_posts() {
+		// Test with no global post, result should be 0 because no author is found
+		$this->assertEquals( 0, get_the_author_posts() );
+		$GLOBALS['post'] = $this->post_id;
+		$this->assertEquals( 1, get_the_author_posts() );
+	}
+}