diff --git a/net/core/rtnetlink.c b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
index 63b882ac288a..d8e25e08cb7e 100644
--- a/net/core/rtnetlink.c
+++ b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
@@ -394,6 +394,8 @@ static int rtnl_setlink(struct sk_buff *skb, struct nlmsghdr *nlh, void *arg)
 
 	if (tb[IFLA_IFNAME])
 		nla_strlcpy(ifname, tb[IFLA_IFNAME], IFNAMSIZ);
+	else
+		ifname[0] = '\0';
 
 	err = -EINVAL;
 	ifm = nlmsg_data(nlh);