diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/SourceFieldMapper.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/SourceFieldMapper.java
index 1162734c0dc81..b6c492cd5769d 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/SourceFieldMapper.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/SourceFieldMapper.java
@@ -440,7 +440,8 @@ public static boolean isSynthetic(IndexSettings indexSettings) {
     }
 
     public static boolean isStored(IndexSettings indexSettings) {
-        return INDEX_MAPPER_SOURCE_MODE_SETTING.get(indexSettings.getSettings()) == Mode.STORED;
+        Mode mode = INDEX_MAPPER_SOURCE_MODE_SETTING.get(indexSettings.getSettings());
+        return mode == Mode.STORED || mode == null;
     }
 
     public boolean isDisabled() {