diff --git a/drivers/staging/android/ion/ion.c b/drivers/staging/android/ion/ion.c
index 4a603cc87e19..58bf3d2f52bd 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/android/ion/ion.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/android/ion/ion.c
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ static struct ion_handle *pass_to_user(struct ion_handle *handle)
 /* Must hold the client lock */
 static int user_ion_handle_put_nolock(struct ion_handle *handle)
 {
-	int ret;
+	int ret = 0;
 
 	if (--handle->user_ref_count == 0)
 		ret = ion_handle_put_nolock(handle);