diff --git a/source3/lib/ldb_compat.c b/source3/lib/ldb_compat.c
index d3b12667a50..36a29e68332 100644
--- a/source3/lib/ldb_compat.c
+++ b/source3/lib/ldb_compat.c
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ static int ldb_parse_hex2char(const char *x)
 {
 	if (isxdigit(x[0]) && isxdigit(x[1])) {
 		const char h1 = x[0], h2 = x[1];
-		int c;
+		int c = 0;
 
 		if (h1 >= 'a') c = h1 - (int)'a' + 10;
 		else if (h1 >= 'A') c = h1 - (int)'A' + 10;