diff --git a/lib/ldap.c b/lib/ldap.c
index 28253f98c..464f2cf98 100644
--- a/lib/ldap.c
+++ b/lib/ldap.c
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ CURLcode Curl_ldap(struct connectdata *conn, bool *done)
 {
   CURLcode status = CURLE_OK;
   int rc = 0;
-  LDAP *server;
+  LDAP *server = NULL;
   LDAPURLDesc *ludp = NULL;
   LDAPMessage *result = NULL;
   LDAPMessage *entryIterator;