diff --git a/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c b/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c
index 48fd53b98972..0d4a213ce145 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c
@@ -1098,7 +1098,7 @@ int ip6_tnl_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb, struct net_device *dev, __u8 dsfield,
 	unsigned int max_headroom = psh_hlen;
 	__be16 payload_protocol;
 	bool use_cache = false;
-	u8 hop_limit;
+	u8 hop_limit = 0;
 	int err = -1;
 
 	payload_protocol = skb_protocol(skb, true);