diff --git a/hack/verify-godeps.sh b/hack/verify-godeps.sh
index 91b91e08419..391e5ff453a 100755
--- a/hack/verify-godeps.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-godeps.sh
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ else
   _tmpdir="${TMP_GOPATH}"
 fi
 
-if [[ -z KEEP_TMP ]]; then
+if [[ -z ${KEEP_TMP:-} ]]; then
     KEEP_TMP=false
 fi
 function cleanup {