diff --git a/helper/ssh/key_pair.go b/helper/ssh/key_pair.go
index f85d17dde..5c2e388af 100644
--- a/helper/ssh/key_pair.go
+++ b/helper/ssh/key_pair.go
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ func (o *defaultKeyPairBuilder) Build() (KeyPair, error) {
 		return o.newEcdsaKeyPair()
 	}
 
-	return nil, fmt.Errorf("Unsupported keypair type: %s", o.kind.String())
+	return defaultKeyPair{}, fmt.Errorf("Unsupported keypair type: %s", o.kind.String())
 }
 
 // preallocatedKeyPair returns an SSH key pair based on user