diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91.c
index d5119a2adf5dc..29947eb905fb4 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91.c
@@ -757,7 +757,7 @@ static int at91_twi_xfer(struct i2c_adapter *adap, struct i2c_msg *msg, int num)
 	unsigned int_addr_flag = 0;
 	struct i2c_msg *m_start = msg;
 	bool is_read;
-	u8 *dma_buf;
+	u8 *dma_buf = NULL;
 
 	dev_dbg(&adap->dev, "at91_xfer: processing %d messages:\n", num);