diff --git a/src/journal/journald-native.c b/src/journal/journald-native.c
index d45c9c2270..1ff4e29849 100644
--- a/src/journal/journald-native.c
+++ b/src/journal/journald-native.c
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ void server_process_native_message(
                 const char *label, size_t label_len) {
 
         size_t remaining = buffer_size;
-        ClientContext *context;
+        ClientContext *context = NULL;
         int r;
 
         assert(s);