diff --git a/tasks/configure_iptables.yml b/tasks/configure_iptables.yml
index 2ecc827db8f080c33604d911022ce75decdd5e0b..9fc07be27dfc1250099adc9ac4339cc921fe002c 100644
--- a/tasks/configure_iptables.yml
+++ b/tasks/configure_iptables.yml
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@
     # rule_num: 1
     source: "{{ item.src | default(omit) }}"
     source_port: "{{ item.src_port | default(omit) }}"
-    state: "{{ item.state }}"
+    state: "{{ item.state | default('present') }}"
     table: "filter"
   loop: "{{ vault_iptables_input | flatten(levels=1) }}"
   notify: