diff --git a/fs/dax.c b/fs/dax.c
index 3b0e5da96d54..12953e892bb2 100644
--- a/fs/dax.c
+++ b/fs/dax.c
@@ -477,10 +477,11 @@ static void *grab_mapping_entry(struct xa_state *xas,
 		struct address_space *mapping, unsigned int order)
 {
 	unsigned long index = xas->xa_index;
-	bool pmd_downgrade = false; /* splitting PMD entry into PTE entries? */
+	bool pmd_downgrade;	/* splitting PMD entry into PTE entries? */
 	void *entry;
 
 retry:
+	pmd_downgrade = false;
 	xas_lock_irq(xas);
 	entry = get_unlocked_entry(xas, order);