diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/repository/config/AnnotationRepositoryConfigurationSource.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/repository/config/AnnotationRepositoryConfigurationSource.java
index 04c34da14..f23185554 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/repository/config/AnnotationRepositoryConfigurationSource.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/repository/config/AnnotationRepositoryConfigurationSource.java
@@ -231,6 +231,6 @@ public class AnnotationRepositoryConfigurationSource extends RepositoryConfigura
 	 */
 	@Override
 	public boolean shouldConsiderNestedRepositories() {
-		return attributes.getBoolean(CONSIDER_NESTED_REPOSITORIES);
+		return attributes.containsKey(CONSIDER_NESTED_REPOSITORIES) && attributes.getBoolean(CONSIDER_NESTED_REPOSITORIES);
 	}
 }