diff --git a/drivers/scsi/scsi_common.c b/drivers/scsi/scsi_common.c
index b1383a71400e..a75673bb82b3 100644
--- a/drivers/scsi/scsi_common.c
+++ b/drivers/scsi/scsi_common.c
@@ -137,11 +137,11 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(int_to_scsilun);
 bool scsi_normalize_sense(const u8 *sense_buffer, int sb_len,
 			  struct scsi_sense_hdr *sshdr)
 {
+	memset(sshdr, 0, sizeof(struct scsi_sense_hdr));
+
 	if (!sense_buffer || !sb_len)
 		return false;
 
-	memset(sshdr, 0, sizeof(struct scsi_sense_hdr));
-
 	sshdr->response_code = (sense_buffer[0] & 0x7f);
 
 	if (!scsi_sense_valid(sshdr))