diff --git a/cluster/saltbase/salt/generate-cert/make-ca-cert.sh b/cluster/saltbase/salt/generate-cert/make-ca-cert.sh
index 642b7083507..31e0b024f93 100755
--- a/cluster/saltbase/salt/generate-cert/make-ca-cert.sh
+++ b/cluster/saltbase/salt/generate-cert/make-ca-cert.sh
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ set -o errexit
 set -o nounset
 set -o pipefail
 
+DEBUG="${DEBUG:-false}"
+
 if [ "${DEBUG}" == "true" ]; then
 	set -x
 fi