diff --git a/fs/ecryptfs/keystore.c b/fs/ecryptfs/keystore.c
index 08a2b52bf565..ac1ad48c2376 100644
--- a/fs/ecryptfs/keystore.c
+++ b/fs/ecryptfs/keystore.c
@@ -1973,7 +1973,7 @@ pki_encrypt_session_key(struct key *auth_tok_key,
 {
 	struct ecryptfs_msg_ctx *msg_ctx = NULL;
 	char *payload = NULL;
-	size_t payload_len;
+	size_t payload_len = 0;
 	struct ecryptfs_message *msg;
 	int rc;