diff --git a/install_puppet.sh b/install_puppet.sh
index a9389294a9..1a1117a656 100755
--- a/install_puppet.sh
+++ b/install_puppet.sh
@@ -127,6 +127,10 @@ EOF
 }
 
 function setup_puppet_ubuntu {
+    if ! which lsb_release > /dev/null 2<&1 ; then
+        DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get --option 'Dpkg::Options::=--force-confold' \
+            --assume-yes install -y --force-yes lsb-release
+    fi
 
     lsbdistcodename=`lsb_release -c -s`
     if [ $lsbdistcodename != 'trusty' ] ; then