diff --git a/src/basic/exec-util.c b/src/basic/exec-util.c
index be86336e14..82ccbdf5ec 100644
--- a/src/basic/exec-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/exec-util.c
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ int execute_directories(
 static int gather_environment_generate(int fd, void *arg) {
         char ***env = arg, **x, **y;
         _cleanup_fclose_ FILE *f = NULL;
-        _cleanup_strv_free_ char **new;
+        _cleanup_strv_free_ char **new = NULL;
         int r;
 
         /* Read a series of VAR=value assignments from fd, use them to update the list of