diff --git a/layers/vk_layer_utils.cpp b/layers/vk_layer_utils.cpp
index d44a3b2..a1ddd22 100644
--- a/layers/vk_layer_utils.cpp
+++ b/layers/vk_layer_utils.cpp
@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@
 
 VkStringErrorFlags vk_string_validate(const int max_length, const char *utf8) {
     VkStringErrorFlags result = VK_STRING_ERROR_NONE;
-    int num_char_bytes;
+    int num_char_bytes = 0;
     int i, j;
 
     for (i = 0; i < max_length; i++) {