diff --git a/pkg/mcclient/auth/auth.go b/pkg/mcclient/auth/auth.go
index 4e0957e66a..ab37809305 100644
--- a/pkg/mcclient/auth/auth.go
+++ b/pkg/mcclient/auth/auth.go
@@ -123,6 +123,9 @@ func newAuthManager(cli *mcclient.Client, info *AuthInfo) *authManager {
 }
 
 func (a *authManager) verify(token string) (mcclient.TokenCredential, error) {
+	if a.adminCredential == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("No valid admin token credential")
+	}
 	cred, err := a.tokenCacheVerify.Verify(a.client, a.adminCredential.GetTokenString(), token)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err