diff --git a/Modules/_ssl.c b/Modules/_ssl.c
index 82d0a6a..1ae543f 100644
--- a/Modules/_ssl.c
+++ b/Modules/_ssl.c
@@ -721,7 +721,7 @@
 
     int i, j;
     PyObject *peer_alt_names = Py_None;
-    PyObject *v, *t;
+    PyObject *v = NULL, *t;
     X509_EXTENSION *ext = NULL;
     GENERAL_NAMES *names = NULL;
     GENERAL_NAME *name;