diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/perl/xCAT/Template.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/perl/xCAT/Template.pm
index c2a5c2137..318bb930e 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/perl/xCAT/Template.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/perl/xCAT/Template.pm
@@ -1617,6 +1617,10 @@ sub envvar
         $envvar =~ s/^\$//;
     }
 
+    # $XCATROOT is reliably set as a package global even when it is absent from
+    # %ENV, so a template referencing it does not expand to undef.
+    if ($envvar eq 'XCATROOT') { return $::XCATROOT; }
+
     return ($ENV{$envvar});
 }