diff --git a/src/common/slurm_protocol_pack.c b/src/common/slurm_protocol_pack.c
index 5252e9a421540f9b17fde6343d0d606453df8430..49c03d2a06b38cc503d57534cb0cc0ef5835466b 100644
--- a/src/common/slurm_protocol_pack.c
+++ b/src/common/slurm_protocol_pack.c
@@ -480,8 +480,9 @@ int pack_msg ( slurm_msg_t const * msg , Buf buffer )
 int unpack_msg ( slurm_msg_t * msg , Buf buffer )
 {
 	int rc = SLURM_SUCCESS;
+	msg -> data = NULL;	/* Initialize to no data for now */
 
-	switch ( msg-> msg_type )
+	switch ( msg -> msg_type )
 	{
 		case REQUEST_BUILD_INFO :
 		case REQUEST_NODE_INFO :