diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/azure_rm_common.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/azure_rm_common.py
index a25fa12cdd3..64db8b8350c 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/azure_rm_common.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/azure_rm_common.py
@@ -1227,7 +1227,7 @@ class AzureRMAuth(object):
 
         if auth_source == 'credential_file':
             self.log("Retrieving credentials from credential file")
-            profile = params.get('profile', 'default')
+            profile = params.get('profile') or 'default'
             default_credentials = self._get_profile(profile)
             return default_credentials