diff --git a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
index d001ff49d25eec91cf72bac337e5f3d913a84f6d..930ce9d29e3fc09d08058e8c87e14d2b229ee063 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_dump/pg_backup_archiver.c
@@ -1784,6 +1784,7 @@ _discoverArchiveFormat(ArchiveHandle *AH)
 #endif
 			die_horribly(AH, modulename, "directory \"%s\" does not appear to be a valid archive (\"toc.dat\" does not exist)\n",
 						 AH->fSpec);
+			fh = NULL; /* keep compiler quiet */
 		}
 		else
 		{