diff --git a/nova/endpoint/cloud.py b/nova/endpoint/cloud.py
index 0940c5d8..acba50b9 100644
--- a/nova/endpoint/cloud.py
+++ b/nova/endpoint/cloud.py
@@ -515,8 +515,12 @@ class CloudController(object):
 
         # get defaults from imagestore
         image_id = image['imageId']
-        kernel_id = image.get('kernelId', None)
-        ramdisk_id = image.get('ramdiskId', None)
+        kernel_id = image.get('kernelId', FLAGS.default_kernel)
+        ramdisk_id = image.get('ramdiskId', FLAGS.default_ramdisk)
+
+        # make sure we have access to kernel and ramdisk
+        self._get_image(context, kernel_id)
+        self._get_image(context, ramdisk_id)
 
         # API parameters overrides of defaults
         kernel_id = kwargs.get('kernel_id', kernel_id)