diff --git a/lib/krb5/pkinit.c b/lib/krb5/pkinit.c
index 946b71d48..80eb77bfa 100644
--- a/lib/krb5/pkinit.c
+++ b/lib/krb5/pkinit.c
@@ -1143,7 +1143,7 @@ _krb5_pk_verify_sign(krb5_context context,
     EVP_PKEY *public_key;
     krb5_error_code ret;
     EVP_MD_CTX md;
-    X509 *cert;
+    X509 *cert = NULL;
     SignedData sd;
     size_t size;