diff --git a/lib/vagrant/environment.rb b/lib/vagrant/environment.rb
index c7941ed27..2eb35bec9 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/environment.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/environment.rb
@@ -1021,7 +1021,11 @@ module Vagrant
         ui.warn(I18n.t("vagrant.plugins.local.install_rerun_command"))
         exit(-1)
       end
-      Vagrant::Plugin::Manager.instance.local_file.installed_plugins
+      if Vagrant::Plugin::Manager.instance.local_file
+        Vagrant::Plugin::Manager.instance.local_file.installed_plugins
+      else
+        {}
+      end
     end
 
     # This method copies the private key into the home directory if it
diff --git a/test/unit/vagrant/environment_test.rb b/test/unit/vagrant/environment_test.rb
index ec517aafa..834dd418d 100644
--- a/test/unit/vagrant/environment_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/vagrant/environment_test.rb
@@ -1561,10 +1561,18 @@ VF
       allow(plugin_manager).to receive(:load_plugins)
     end
 
+    context "when local data directory does not exist" do
+      let(:local_file) { nil }
+
+      it "should properly return empty result" do
+        expect(instance.send(:process_configured_plugins)).to be_empty
+      end
+    end
+
     context "plugins are disabled" do
       before{ allow(Vagrant).to receive(:plugins_enabled?).and_return(false) }
 
-      it "should return nil" do
+      it "should return empty result" do
         expect(instance.send(:process_configured_plugins)).to be_nil
       end
     end