diff --git a/initctl.c b/initctl.c
index c45343a8..8fd864e6 100644
--- a/initctl.c
+++ b/initctl.c
@@ -77,17 +77,17 @@ exit:
 
 static int runlevel_get(void)
 {
-	struct init_request rq;
 	int sd, result = 255;
-
-	rq.cmd = INIT_CMD_GET_RUNLEVEL;
-	rq.magic = INIT_MAGIC;
-
+	struct init_request rq;
 	struct sockaddr_un sun = {
 		.sun_family = AF_UNIX,
 		.sun_path   = INIT_SOCKET,
 	};
 
+	memset(&rq, 0, sizeof(rq));
+	rq.cmd = INIT_CMD_GET_RUNLEVEL;
+	rq.magic = INIT_MAGIC;
+
 	sd = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
 	if (-1 == sd)
 		return -1;