diff --git a/django/db/backends/mysql/features.py b/django/db/backends/mysql/features.py
index ea5fd0d9e9..64ed8c2602 100644
--- a/django/db/backends/mysql/features.py
+++ b/django/db/backends/mysql/features.py
@@ -75,4 +75,5 @@ class DatabaseFeatures(BaseDatabaseFeatures):
     def is_sql_auto_is_null_enabled(self):
         with self.connection.cursor() as cursor:
             cursor.execute('SELECT @@SQL_AUTO_IS_NULL')
-            return cursor.fetchone()[0] == 1
+            result = cursor.fetchone()
+            return result and result[0] == 1
diff --git a/docs/releases/1.10.1.txt b/docs/releases/1.10.1.txt
index 1ebeb9c92a..2f4fd581b9 100644
--- a/docs/releases/1.10.1.txt
+++ b/docs/releases/1.10.1.txt
@@ -9,4 +9,5 @@ Django 1.10.1 fixes several bugs in 1.10.
 Bugfixes
 ========
 
-* ...
+* Fixed a crash in MySQL connections where ``SELECT @@SQL_AUTO_IS_NULL``
+  doesn't return a result (:ticket:`26991`).