diff --git a/warden3/warden_server/warden_server.py b/warden3/warden_server/warden_server.py
index 862f135fe5597bc7a304f9d70762e5a477371935..5b78c3d56b83b008a793676b2a0059460d877481 100644
--- a/warden3/warden_server/warden_server.py
+++ b/warden3/warden_server/warden_server.py
@@ -1348,7 +1348,7 @@ def build_server(conf, section_order=section_order, section_def=section_def, par
     }
 
     def init_obj(sect_name):
-        config = conf.get(sect_name, {})
+        config = dict(conf.get(sect_name, {}))
         sect_name = sect_name.lower()
         sect_def = section_def[sect_name]