diff --git a/dbutil.c b/dbutil.c
index 52d9008e8c5624c7fbcd95b55e215a32498fba4c..9445f0efd3592f7779ff9c329cb0207de291f749 100644
--- a/dbutil.c
+++ b/dbutil.c
@@ -530,7 +530,7 @@ int buf_readfile(buffer* buf, const char* filename) {
 	int fd = -1;
 	int len;
 	int maxlen;
-	ret = DROPBEAR_FAILURE;
+	int ret = DROPBEAR_FAILURE;
 
 	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);