diff --git a/src/slurmctld/proc_req.c b/src/slurmctld/proc_req.c
index 6f7fce7be91503c93edb96b76d4da275b2bf969c..9e3d9e78dfffaccc68777e7b64b08862269d4f4c 100644
--- a/src/slurmctld/proc_req.c
+++ b/src/slurmctld/proc_req.c
@@ -837,7 +837,7 @@ static void _slurm_rpc_allocate_resources(slurm_msg_t * msg)
 	int immediate = job_desc_msg->immediate;
 	bool do_unlock = false;
 	bool job_waiting = false;
-	struct job_record *job_ptr;
+	struct job_record *job_ptr = NULL;
 	uint16_t port;	/* dummy value */
 	slurm_addr_t resp_addr;