diff --git a/src/util/virnetdev.c b/src/util/virnetdev.c
index 093c99c83c..54d866e693 100644
--- a/src/util/virnetdev.c
+++ b/src/util/virnetdev.c
@@ -2758,6 +2758,7 @@ virNetDevFeatureAvailable(const char *ifname, struct ethtool_value *cmd)
         goto cleanup;
     }
 
+    memset(&ifr, 0, sizeof(ifr));
     strcpy(ifr.ifr_name, ifname);
     ifr.ifr_data = (void*) cmd;