diff --git a/assets/aws/files/install.sh b/assets/aws/files/install.sh
index 6e7af8b07706a..4e274c713ce37 100644
--- a/assets/aws/files/install.sh
+++ b/assets/aws/files/install.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-if [[ "${DEBUG}" == "true" ]]; then
+if [[ "${DEBUG:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
     set -x
 fi