diff --git a/hw/sd/sdhci.c b/hw/sd/sdhci.c
index 87122e4245..ed01499391 100644
--- a/hw/sd/sdhci.c
+++ b/hw/sd/sdhci.c
@@ -747,7 +747,7 @@ static void sdhci_do_adma(SDHCIState *s)
     const uint16_t block_size = s->blksize & BLOCK_SIZE_MASK;
     const MemTxAttrs attrs = { .memory = true };
     ADMADescr dscr = {};
-    MemTxResult res;
+    MemTxResult res = MEMTX_ERROR;
     int i;
 
     if (s->trnmod & SDHC_TRNS_BLK_CNT_EN && !s->blkcnt) {