diff --git a/Modules/_bsddb.c b/Modules/_bsddb.c
index f938ff0..9654cf3 100644
--- a/Modules/_bsddb.c
+++ b/Modules/_bsddb.c
@@ -1070,7 +1070,7 @@
     PyObject* key;
     PyObject* data;
     PyObject* args;
-    PyObject* result;
+    PyObject* result = NULL;
 
 
     if (callback != NULL) {