diff --git a/includes/common.inc b/includes/common.inc
index c97704c..98b0c04 100644
--- a/includes/common.inc
+++ b/includes/common.inc
@@ -225,6 +225,15 @@ function drupal_get_profile() {
   if (isset($install_state['parameters']['profile'])) {
     $profile = $install_state['parameters']['profile'];
   }
+  // If this function is called before the bootstrap variables phase we need to
+  // fetch the value directly from the db.
+  elseif (
+    drupal_get_bootstrap_phase() < DRUPAL_BOOTSTRAP_VARIABLES &&
+    drupal_get_bootstrap_phase() >= DRUPAL_BOOTSTRAP_DATABASE
+  ) {
+    $result = db_query("SELECT value FROM {variable} WHERE name = 'install_profile'")->fetchField();
+    $profile = $result ? unserialize($result) : 'standard';
+  }
   else {
     $profile = variable_get('install_profile', 'standard');
   }