diff --git a/src/knownhost.c b/src/knownhost.c
index 300a4f0c..80f869e3 100644
--- a/src/knownhost.c
+++ b/src/knownhost.c
@@ -509,7 +509,6 @@ static int hostline(LIBSSH2_KNOWNHOSTS *hosts,
             return rc;
     }
 
-    host = orig;
     memcpy(hostbuf, host, hostlen);
     hostbuf[hostlen]=0;