diff --git a/lib/otp/otp_md.c b/lib/otp/otp_md.c
index 1d6fe9594..9338a204d 100644
--- a/lib/otp/otp_md.c
+++ b/lib/otp/otp_md.c
@@ -92,8 +92,6 @@ otp_md_init (OtpKey key,
     char *p;
     int len;
 
-    ctx = EVP_MD_CTX_create();
-
     len = strlen(pwd) + strlen(seed);
     p = malloc (len + 1);
     if (p == NULL)
@@ -102,6 +100,8 @@ otp_md_init (OtpKey key,
     strlwr (p);
     strlcat (p, pwd, len + 1);
 
+    ctx = EVP_MD_CTX_create();
+
     EVP_DigestInit_ex(ctx, md, NULL);
     EVP_DigestUpdate(ctx, p, len);
     EVP_DigestFinal_ex(ctx, res, NULL);