diff --git a/PyInstaller/depend/analysis.py b/PyInstaller/depend/analysis.py
index b4f87b31f5..c33dc446f3 100644
--- a/PyInstaller/depend/analysis.py
+++ b/PyInstaller/depend/analysis.py
@@ -741,6 +741,11 @@ def get_co_using_ctypes(self):
         if node:
             referers = self.getReferers(node)
             for r in referers:
+                # Under python 3.7 and earlier, if ctypes is added to
+                # hidden imports, one of referers ends up being None,
+                # causing #3825. Work around it.
+                if r is None:
+                    continue
                 r_ident =  r.identifier
                 # Ensure that modulegraph objects has attribute 'code'.
                 if type(r).__name__ in pure_python_module_types:
diff --git a/news/3825.bugfix.rst b/news/3825.bugfix.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..94d84192cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/3825.bugfix.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Fix the build-time error under python 3.7 and earlier when ``ctypes``
+is manually added to ``hiddenimports``.