diff --git a/http_parser.c b/http_parser.c
index 95afa18..8b65b45 100644
--- a/http_parser.c
+++ b/http_parser.c
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ size_t http_parser_execute (http_parser *parser,
                             size_t len)
 {
   char c, ch;
-  const char *p, *pe;
+  const char *p = data, *pe;
   ssize_t to_read;
 
   enum state state = parser->state;