diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_ethtool.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_ethtool.c
index a72d99fd7a2d..7ba3df3cb312 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_ethtool.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_ethtool.c
@@ -1121,7 +1121,7 @@ static int mlx4_en_set_channels(struct net_device *dev,
 {
 	struct mlx4_en_priv *priv = netdev_priv(dev);
 	struct mlx4_en_dev *mdev = priv->mdev;
-	int port_up;
+	int port_up = 0;
 	int err = 0;
 
 	if (channel->other_count || channel->combined_count ||