diff --git a/confluent_server/confluent/discovery/handlers/tsm.py b/confluent_server/confluent/discovery/handlers/tsm.py
index 8a8dfac7..ace75bf5 100644
--- a/confluent_server/confluent/discovery/handlers/tsm.py
+++ b/confluent_server/confluent/discovery/handlers/tsm.py
@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@ class NodeHandler(generic.NodeHandler):
         cd = creds.get(nodename, {})
         user, passwd, _ = self.get_node_credentials(
                 nodename, creds, self.DEFAULT_USER, self.DEFAULT_PASS)
+        user = util.stringify(user)
+        passwd = util.stringify(passwd)
         self.targuser = user
         self.targpass = passwd
         wc = self._get_wc()