diff --git a/src/conf.c b/src/conf.c
index 38c3a5fd..2b3f2ecd 100644
--- a/src/conf.c
+++ b/src/conf.c
@@ -475,7 +475,7 @@ int config__read(struct mosquitto__config *config, bool reload)
 {
 	int rc = MOSQ_ERR_SUCCESS;
 	struct config_recurse cr;
-	int lineno;
+	int lineno = 0;
 	int len;
 #ifdef WITH_BRIDGE
 	int i;