diff --git a/boot/bootutil/src/loader.c b/boot/bootutil/src/loader.c
index 5d23be3..431f4dd 100644
--- a/boot/bootutil/src/loader.c
+++ b/boot/bootutil/src/loader.c
@@ -2207,7 +2207,7 @@
     uint32_t img_sz;
     uint32_t img_loaded = 0;
 #endif /* MCUBOOT_RAM_LOAD */
-    fih_int fih_rc;
+    fih_int fih_rc = FIH_FAILURE;
 
     memset(state, 0, sizeof(struct boot_loader_state));