diff --git a/sonic-xcvrd/xcvrd/xcvrd.py b/sonic-xcvrd/xcvrd/xcvrd.py
index a5c53b0eb05f..55d5da8f1e2f 100644
--- a/sonic-xcvrd/xcvrd/xcvrd.py
+++ b/sonic-xcvrd/xcvrd/xcvrd.py
@@ -1250,7 +1250,7 @@ def get_port_admin_status(self, lport):
         found, port_info = cfg_port_tbl.get(lport)
         if found:
             # Check admin_status too ...just in case
-            admin_status = dict(port_info)['admin_status']
+            admin_status = dict(port_info).get('admin_status', 'down')
         return admin_status
 
     def configure_tx_output_power(self, api, lport, tx_power):