diff --git a/server/services/store/mattermostauthlayer/mattermostauthlayer.go b/server/services/store/mattermostauthlayer/mattermostauthlayer.go
index c0a1b4ca8..07c88c8e5 100644
--- a/server/services/store/mattermostauthlayer/mattermostauthlayer.go
+++ b/server/services/store/mattermostauthlayer/mattermostauthlayer.go
@@ -803,6 +803,9 @@ func (s *MattermostAuthLayer) GetMemberForBoard(boardID, userID string) (*model.
 	bm, err := s.Store.GetMemberForBoard(boardID, userID)
 	// Explicit membership not found
 	if model.IsErrNotFound(err) {
+		if userID == model.SystemUserID {
+			return nil, model.NewErrNotFound(userID)
+		}
 		var user *model.User
 		// No synthetic memberships for guests
 		user, err = s.GetUserByID(userID)