diff --git a/src/ziplist.c b/src/ziplist.c
index d4ac4f9b4..00516f509 100644
--- a/src/ziplist.c
+++ b/src/ziplist.c
@@ -1041,7 +1041,8 @@ void pop(unsigned char *zl, int where) {
 }
 
 int randstring(char *target, unsigned int min, unsigned int max) {
-    int p, len = min+rand()%(max-min+1);
+    int p = 0;
+    int len = min+rand()%(max-min+1);
     int minval, maxval;
     switch(rand() % 3) {
     case 0: