diff --git a/src/sonic-config-engine/minigraph.py b/src/sonic-config-engine/minigraph.py
index f3b143d07030..2ac452185adc 100644
--- a/src/sonic-config-engine/minigraph.py
+++ b/src/sonic-config-engine/minigraph.py
@@ -925,6 +925,9 @@ def parse_system_defaults(meta):
 
     system_defaults = meta.find(str(QName(ns1, "SystemDefaults")))
     
+    if system_defaults is None:
+        return system_default_values
+    
     for system_default in system_defaults.findall(str(QName(ns1, "SystemDefault"))):
         name = system_default.find(str(QName(ns1, "Name"))).text
         value = system_default.find(str(QName(ns1, "Value"))).text