diff --git a/src/secret/secret_driver.c b/src/secret/secret_driver.c
index 20a3fa8658..9c4102e7e4 100644
--- a/src/secret/secret_driver.c
+++ b/src/secret/secret_driver.c
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ static virSecretEntryPtr
 secretLoad(virConnectPtr conn, virSecretDriverStatePtr driver,
            const char *xml_basename)
 {
-    virSecretDefPtr def;
+    virSecretDefPtr def = NULL;
     virSecretEntryPtr secret = NULL, ret = NULL;
     char *xml_filename;