diff --git a/crypto/asymmetric_keys/public_key.c b/crypto/asymmetric_keys/public_key.c
index fd76b5fc3b3a..d3a989e718f5 100644
--- a/crypto/asymmetric_keys/public_key.c
+++ b/crypto/asymmetric_keys/public_key.c
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ int public_key_verify_signature(const struct public_key *pkey,
 	if (ret)
 		goto error_free_req;
 
+	ret = -ENOMEM;
 	outlen = crypto_akcipher_maxsize(tfm);
 	output = kmalloc(outlen, GFP_KERNEL);
 	if (!output)