diff --git a/http.c b/http.c
index 4c4a812fcc..3d6fb9cbcb 100644
--- a/http.c
+++ b/http.c
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ static int curl_save_cookies;
 struct credential http_auth = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
 static int http_proactive_auth;
 static const char *user_agent;
-static int curl_empty_auth;
+static int curl_empty_auth = 1;
 
 #if LIBCURL_VERSION_NUM >= 0x071700
 /* Use CURLOPT_KEYPASSWD as is */