diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace_output.c b/kernel/trace/trace_output.c
index 5fc51f0f75fc03c9535b628a56d108e9a383f0cf..8bd9a2c1a46a08b0bde704e0404cf86564a8f8ca 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace_output.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace_output.c
@@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ int register_ftrace_event(struct trace_event *event)
 	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&event->list);
 
 	if (!event->type) {
-		struct list_head *list;
+		struct list_head *list = NULL;
 
 		if (next_event_type > FTRACE_MAX_EVENT) {