diff --git a/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/cse_benchmark_functions.sh b/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/cse_benchmark_functions.sh
index c06cfc66dae..9464298af9b 100644
--- a/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/cse_benchmark_functions.sh
+++ b/parts/linux/cloud-init/artifacts/cse_benchmark_functions.sh
@@ -44,8 +44,12 @@ capture_benchmark() {
 process_benchmarks() {
   set +x
 
-  if [ ! -f ${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE} ]; then
-    echo '{}' > ${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}
+  if [ -z "${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}" ] ; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  if [ ! -f "${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}" ]; then
+    echo '{}' > "${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}"
   fi
 
   check_array_size benchmarks || { echo "Benchmarks array is empty"; return; }
@@ -60,6 +64,6 @@ process_benchmarks() {
     '$script_object | .[$script_name] += $section_object')
   done
  
-  jq ". += $script_object" ${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE} > temp-perf-file.json && mv temp-perf-file.json ${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}
-  chmod 755 ${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}
+  jq ". += $script_object" "${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}" > temp-perf-file.json && mv temp-perf-file.json "${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}"
+  chmod 755 "${PERFORMANCE_DATA_FILE}"
 }
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