diff --git a/drivers/extcon/extcon.c b/drivers/extcon/extcon.c
index 5b61000cde26..9a266e5c7e10 100644
--- a/drivers/extcon/extcon.c
+++ b/drivers/extcon/extcon.c
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ int extcon_register_notifier(struct extcon_dev *edev, unsigned int id,
 			     struct notifier_block *nb)
 {
 	unsigned long flags;
-	int ret, idx;
+	int ret, idx = -EINVAL;
 
 	if (!nb)
 		return -EINVAL;