diff --git a/src/ssl.c b/src/ssl.c
index f2320d0ce..3d26a38b1 100644
--- a/src/ssl.c
+++ b/src/ssl.c
@@ -41554,6 +41554,7 @@ cleanup:
         pem = (unsigned char*)XMALLOC(l, 0, DYNAMIC_TYPE_PEM);
         if (pem == NULL)
             return NULL;
+        XMEMSET(pem, 0, l);
 
         i = 0;
         if (wc_PemGetHeaderFooter(type, NULL, &footer) != 0) {