diff --git a/lib/rex/parser/ini.rb b/lib/rex/parser/ini.rb
index 8dffe5ac1b..8d7f8f1bc4 100644
--- a/lib/rex/parser/ini.rb
+++ b/lib/rex/parser/ini.rb
@@ -165,7 +165,12 @@ protected
       # Is it a VAR=VAL?
       elsif (md = line.match(/^(.+?)=(.*)$/))
         if (active_group)
-          self[active_group][md[1]] = md[2]
+          var, val = md[1], md[2]
+
+          # don't clobber datastore nils with ""
+          unless val.empty?
+            self[active_group][var] = val
+          end
         end
       end
     }