diff --git a/bin/cdist-config b/bin/cdist-config
index 82d94753..a19fdc01 100755
--- a/bin/cdist-config
+++ b/bin/cdist-config
@@ -152,9 +152,11 @@ __cdist_echo()
 {
    __cdist_echo_type="$1"; shift
 
+   set +u
    if [ "$__cdist_object_self" ]; then
       __cdist_echo_prefix="$__cdist_object_self"
    fi
+   set -u
 
    case "$__cdist_echo_type" in
       debug)