diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/ini.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/ini.py
index 11900c0d08..fd960617b9 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/ini.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/ini.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes, to_text
 def _parse_params(term):
     '''Safely split parameter term to preserve spaces'''
 
-    keys = ['key', 'type', 'section', 'file', 're']
+    keys = ['key', 'type', 'section', 'file', 're', 'default']
     params = {}
     for k in keys:
         params[k] = ''