diff --git a/src/xen_internal.c b/src/xen_internal.c
index b2ce2bf9ab..a837b7047c 100644
--- a/src/xen_internal.c
+++ b/src/xen_internal.c
@@ -1331,7 +1331,7 @@ xenHypervisorInit(void)
     hypercall_t hc;
     v0_hypercall_t v0_hc;
     xen_getdomaininfo info;
-    virVcpuInfoPtr ipt;
+    virVcpuInfoPtr ipt = NULL;
 
     if (initialized) {
         if (hypervisor_version == -1)