diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index d96040a819..cadb3db609 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -3989,7 +3989,7 @@ qemuDomainSaveImageOpen(struct qemud_driver *driver,
                         const char *xmlin, int state, bool edit,
                         bool unlink_corrupt)
 {
-    int fd;
+    int fd = -1;
     struct qemud_save_header header;
     char *xml = NULL;
     virDomainDefPtr def = NULL;