diff --git a/src/virtio/vulkan/vn_renderer_virtgpu.c b/src/virtio/vulkan/vn_renderer_virtgpu.c
index 9d63190716e..9692869ee18 100644
--- a/src/virtio/vulkan/vn_renderer_virtgpu.c
+++ b/src/virtio/vulkan/vn_renderer_virtgpu.c
@@ -1579,6 +1579,7 @@ vn_renderer_create_virtgpu(struct vn_instance *instance,
       return VK_ERROR_OUT_OF_HOST_MEMORY;
 
    gpu->instance = instance;
+   gpu->fd = -1;
 
    VkResult result = virtgpu_init(gpu);
    if (result != VK_SUCCESS) {