diff --git a/hmp.c b/hmp.c
index ba9e299ee2..fd13d5b56a 100644
--- a/hmp.c
+++ b/hmp.c
@@ -1321,7 +1321,7 @@ void hmp_savevm(Monitor *mon, const QDict *qdict)
 void hmp_delvm(Monitor *mon, const QDict *qdict)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
-    Error *err;
+    Error *err = NULL;
     const char *name = qdict_get_str(qdict, "name");
 
     if (bdrv_all_delete_snapshot(name, &bs, &err) < 0) {