diff --git a/django/contrib/auth/hashers.py b/django/contrib/auth/hashers.py
index 87e4218a8f0..7656b504374 100644
--- a/django/contrib/auth/hashers.py
+++ b/django/contrib/auth/hashers.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ UNUSABLE_PASSWORD_SUFFIX_LENGTH = 40  # number of random chars to add after UNUS
 HASHERS = None  # lazily loaded from PASSWORD_HASHERS
 PREFERRED_HASHER = None  # defaults to first item in PASSWORD_HASHERS
 
+
 @receiver(setting_changed)
 def reset_hashers(**kwargs):
     if kwargs['setting'] == 'PASSWORD_HASHERS':
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ def is_password_usable(encoded):
     if encoded is None or encoded.startswith(UNUSABLE_PASSWORD_PREFIX):
         return False
     try:
-        hasher = identify_hasher(encoded)
+        identify_hasher(encoded)
     except ValueError:
         return False
     return True
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ def check_password(password, encoded, setter=None, preferred='default'):
     If setter is specified, it'll be called when you need to
     regenerate the password.
     """
-    if not is_password_usable(encoded):
+    if password is None or not is_password_usable(encoded):
         return False
 
     preferred = get_hasher(preferred)
diff --git a/django/contrib/auth/tests/test_hashers.py b/django/contrib/auth/tests/test_hashers.py
index 8e8119b7417..4b90127c377 100644
--- a/django/contrib/auth/tests/test_hashers.py
+++ b/django/contrib/auth/tests/test_hashers.py
@@ -187,6 +187,13 @@ class TestUtilsHashPass(unittest.TestCase):
         # This might fail one day due to a hash collision.
         self.assertNotEqual(encoded, make_password(None), "Random password collision?")
 
+    def test_unspecified_password(self):
+        """
+        Makes sure specifying no plain password with a valid encoded password
+        returns `False`.
+        """
+        self.assertFalse(check_password(None, make_password('lètmein')))
+
     def test_bad_algorithm(self):
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
             make_password('lètmein', hasher='lolcat')