diff --git a/tools/perf/check-headers.sh b/tools/perf/check-headers.sh
index bf206ffe5c45..9aff89bc7535 100755
--- a/tools/perf/check-headers.sh
+++ b/tools/perf/check-headers.sh
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ check () {
   file=$1
 
   shift
+  opts=
   while [ -n "$*" ]; do
     opts="$opts \"$1\""
     shift