diff --git a/lib/units/device/plugins/vnc/util/connection.js b/lib/units/device/plugins/vnc/util/connection.js
index eeaf24ca..5041c675 100644
--- a/lib/units/device/plugins/vnc/util/connection.js
+++ b/lib/units/device/plugins/vnc/util/connection.js
@@ -230,6 +230,7 @@ VncConnection.prototype._read = function() {
   while (this._append(this.conn.read())) {
     do {
       debug('state', StateReverse[this._state])
+      chunk = null
       switch (this._state) {
       case VncConnection.STATE_NEED_CLIENT_VERSION:
         if ((chunk = this._consume(12))) {