diff --git a/src/secret/secret_driver.c b/src/secret/secret_driver.c
index 1cb342878f..45da09322b 100644
--- a/src/secret/secret_driver.c
+++ b/src/secret/secret_driver.c
@@ -459,8 +459,7 @@ secretStateInitialize(bool privileged,
                       virStateInhibitCallback callback G_GNUC_UNUSED,
                       void *opaque G_GNUC_UNUSED)
 {
-    if (VIR_ALLOC(driver) < 0)
-        return VIR_DRV_STATE_INIT_ERROR;
+    driver = g_new0(virSecretDriverState, 1);
 
     driver->lockFD = -1;
     if (virMutexInit(&driver->lock) < 0) {