diff --git a/src/main/resources/application.properties b/src/main/resources/application.properties
index bbe0de7..9d1ab89 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/application.properties
+++ b/src/main/resources/application.properties
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ quarkus.management.auth.permission.health.paths=/q/health/*
 # Basic security for management:
 quarkus.security.users.embedded.enabled=true
 quarkus.security.users.embedded.plain-text=true
-quarkus.security.users.embedded.users."management-user"=${MANAGEMENT_USER_PASSWORD}
+quarkus.security.users.embedded.users."management-user"=${MANAGEMENT_USER_PASSWORD:not-a-password}
 #
 # Scheduler:
 # >> By default, the scheduler is not started unless a @Scheduled business method is found.