diff --git a/ipaclient/plugins/vault.py b/ipaclient/plugins/vault.py
index 34988daf3..4d3c17e14 100644
--- a/ipaclient/plugins/vault.py
+++ b/ipaclient/plugins/vault.py
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ class vault_archive(ModVaultData):
             data = validated_read('in', input_file, mode='rb')
 
         else:
-            data = ''
+            data = b''
 
         if self.api.env.in_server:
             backend = self.api.Backend.ldap2