diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91-master.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91-master.c
index 5eca3b3bb6092..c0c35785a0dc4 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91-master.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-at91-master.c
@@ -656,7 +656,7 @@ 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);