diff --git a/pkg/cloudprovider/providers/vsphere/vsphere.go b/pkg/cloudprovider/providers/vsphere/vsphere.go
index e400046761f7..0ba4238e9ab8 100644
--- a/pkg/cloudprovider/providers/vsphere/vsphere.go
+++ b/pkg/cloudprovider/providers/vsphere/vsphere.go
@@ -806,7 +806,7 @@ func (vs *VSphere) AttachDisk(vmDiskPath string, storagePolicyID string, nodeNam
 			}
 
 			scsiControllersOfRequiredType := getSCSIControllersOfType(vmDevices, diskControllerType)
-			scsiController := getAvailableSCSIController(scsiControllersOfRequiredType)
+			scsiController = getAvailableSCSIController(scsiControllersOfRequiredType)
 			if scsiController == nil {
 				glog.Errorf("cannot find SCSI controller in VM")
 				// attempt clean up of scsi controller