diff --git a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmb_dev_int.c b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmb_dev_int.c
index 57204335c5f5..285e0b8f9a97 100644
--- a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmb_dev_int.c
+++ b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmb_dev_int.c
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ static ssize_t ipmb_read(struct file *file, char __user *buf, size_t count,
 	struct ipmb_dev *ipmb_dev = to_ipmb_dev(file);
 	struct ipmb_request_elem *queue_elem;
 	struct ipmb_msg msg;
-	ssize_t ret;
+	ssize_t ret = 0;
 
 	memset(&msg, 0, sizeof(msg));