diff --git a/changelog.d/10477.bugfix b/changelog.d/10477.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bcc92de434
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/10477.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix bug introduced in Synapse 1.38 which caused an exception at startup when SAML authentication was enabled.
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/_base.py b/synapse/handlers/_base.py
index 525f3d39b1..6a05a65305 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/_base.py
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@
 import logging
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Optional
 
-import synapse.state
-import synapse.storage
 import synapse.types
 from synapse.api.constants import EventTypes, Membership
 from synapse.api.ratelimiting import Ratelimiter