diff --git a/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c b/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
index 123ef398a10d..a64aa888751c 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
@@ -7655,6 +7655,9 @@ static int nft_verdict_init(const struct nft_ctx *ctx, struct nft_data *data,
 
 	if (!tb[NFTA_VERDICT_CODE])
 		return -EINVAL;
+
+	/* zero padding hole for memcmp */
+	memset(data, 0, sizeof(*data));
 	data->verdict.code = ntohl(nla_get_be32(tb[NFTA_VERDICT_CODE]));
 
 	switch (data->verdict.code) {