diff --git a/programs/zstdcli.c b/programs/zstdcli.c
index f367f49af..68dd98cb0 100644
--- a/programs/zstdcli.c
+++ b/programs/zstdcli.c
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ int main(int argCount, const char** argv)
     unsigned dictSelect = g_defaultSelectivityLevel;
 #ifdef UTIL_HAS_CREATEFILELIST
     const char** fileNamesTable = NULL;
-    char* fileNamesBuf;
+    char* fileNamesBuf = NULL;
     unsigned fileNamesNb;
 #endif