diff --git a/internal/registry/obj_selector.go b/internal/registry/obj_selector.go
index 71f5e29..80f5192 100644
--- a/internal/registry/obj_selector.go
+++ b/internal/registry/obj_selector.go
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@ func NewObjSelector(registry *ObjRegistry, selectionSize int, filter *ObjFilter)
 	if selectionSize <= 0 {
 		selectionSize = objectSelectCache
 	}
+	if filter == nil || filter.Status == "" {
+		panic("filtering without status is not supported")
+	}
 	objSelector := &ObjSelector{
 		ctx:       registry.ctx,
 		boltDB:    registry.boltDB,