diff --git a/mount.cifs.c b/mount.cifs.c
index c4eb59a..124be27 100644
--- a/mount.cifs.c
+++ b/mount.cifs.c
@@ -559,7 +606,7 @@ static int open_cred_file(char *file_name,
 			struct parsed_mount_info *parsed_info)
 {
 	char *line_buf;
-	char *temp_val;
+	char *temp_val = NULL;
 	FILE *fs = NULL;
 	int i;
 	const int line_buf_size = 4096;
@@ -622,9 +669,10 @@ static int open_cred_file(char *file_name,
 			break;
 		case CRED_UNPARSEABLE:
 			if (parsed_info->verboseflag)
-				fprintf(stderr,
-					"Credential formatted incorrectly: %s",
-					temp_val);
+				if (temp_val)
+					fprintf(stderr,
+						"Credential formatted incorrectly: %s",
+						temp_val);
 			break;
 		}
 	}