diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/wl12xx/main.c b/drivers/net/wireless/wl12xx/main.c
index 2192e4c..9076555 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/wl12xx/main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/wl12xx/main.c
@@ -3334,9 +3334,9 @@
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(wl1271_free_hw);
 
-u32 wl12xx_debug_level;
+u32 wl12xx_debug_level = DEBUG_NONE;
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(wl12xx_debug_level);
-module_param_named(debug_level, wl12xx_debug_level, uint, DEBUG_NONE);
+module_param_named(debug_level, wl12xx_debug_level, uint, S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR);
 MODULE_PARM_DESC(debug_level, "wl12xx debugging level");
 
 MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");