diff --git a/updater/install.c b/updater/install.c
index 7b4b99b..f68bd03 100644
--- a/updater/install.c
+++ b/updater/install.c
@@ -792,11 +792,12 @@
         return NULL;
     }
 
+    char* partition = NULL;
     if (partition_value->type != VAL_STRING) {
         ErrorAbort(state, "partition argument to %s must be string", name);
         goto done;
     }
-    char* partition = partition_value->data;
+    partition = partition_value->data;
     if (strlen(partition) == 0) {
         ErrorAbort(state, "partition argument to %s can't be empty", name);
         goto done;