diff --git a/fs/cifs/connect.c b/fs/cifs/connect.c
index 84c730701c0..fb31c2c1bb1 100644
--- a/fs/cifs/connect.c
+++ b/fs/cifs/connect.c
@@ -784,7 +784,7 @@ cifs_parse_mount_options(const char *mountdata, const char *devname,
 			 struct smb_vol *vol)
 {
 	char *value, *data, *end;
-	char *mountdata_copy, *options;
+	char *mountdata_copy = NULL, *options;
 	unsigned int  temp_len, i, j;
 	char separator[2];
 	short int override_uid = -1;