diff --git a/src/authm/AuthManager.cc b/src/authm/AuthManager.cc
index e8da646e69..b0cfe4090b 100644
--- a/src/authm/AuthManager.cc
+++ b/src/authm/AuthManager.cc
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ void AuthManager::timer_action()
 
             ar->result  = false;
             ar->timeout = true;
-            ar->message.clear();
+            ar->message = "Auth request timeout";
 
             ar->notify();
         }