diff --git a/src/modules/sdlog2/sdlog2.c b/src/modules/sdlog2/sdlog2.c
index 08137f4056..5da029a608 100644
--- a/src/modules/sdlog2/sdlog2.c
+++ b/src/modules/sdlog2/sdlog2.c
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ bool get_log_time_tt(struct tm *tt, bool boot_time) {
 	struct timespec ts;
 	px4_clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, &ts);
 	/* use RTC time for log file naming, e.g. /fs/microsd/2014-01-19/19_37_52.px4log */
-	time_t utc_time_sec;
+	time_t utc_time_sec = 0;
 
 	if (_gpstime_only && has_gps_3d_fix) {
 		utc_time_sec = gps_time_sec;