diff --git a/drivers/s390/cio/qdio_main.c b/drivers/s390/cio/qdio_main.c
index e8f267eb8887..55e8f721e38a 100644
--- a/drivers/s390/cio/qdio_main.c
+++ b/drivers/s390/cio/qdio_main.c
@@ -1446,7 +1446,7 @@ static int handle_inbound(struct qdio_q *q, unsigned int callflags,
 static int handle_outbound(struct qdio_q *q, unsigned int callflags,
 			   int bufnr, int count)
 {
-	unsigned char state;
+	unsigned char state = 0;
 	int used, rc = 0;
 
 	qperf_inc(q, outbound_call);