diff --git a/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp b/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp
index 5224dd45229845..97e70bc70a5aad 100644
--- a/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp
+++ b/src/controller/CHIPDeviceController.cpp
@@ -334,8 +334,8 @@ void DeviceController::OnFirstMessageDeliveryFailed(const SessionHandle & sessio
         return;
     }
 
-    FabricIndex ourIndex;
-    CHIP_ERROR err = GetFabricIndex(&ourIndex);
+    FabricIndex ourIndex = kUndefinedFabricIndex;
+    CHIP_ERROR err       = GetFabricIndex(&ourIndex);
     if (err != CHIP_NO_ERROR)
     {
         // We can't really do CASE, now can we?