diff --git a/lib/libfetch/http.c b/lib/libfetch/http.c
index e0c297971a36..91ca6a399739 100644
--- a/lib/libfetch/http.c
+++ b/lib/libfetch/http.c
@@ -1330,7 +1330,6 @@ static int
 http_authorize(conn_t *conn, const char *hdr, http_auth_challenges_t *cs,
 	       http_auth_params_t *parms, struct url *url)
 {
-	http_auth_challenge_t *basic = NULL;
 	http_auth_challenge_t *digest = NULL;
 	int i;
 
@@ -1340,10 +1339,8 @@ http_authorize(conn_t *conn, const char *hdr, http_auth_challenges_t *cs,
 		return (-1);
 	}
 
-	/* Look for a Digest and a Basic challenge */
+	/* Look for a Digest */
 	for (i = 0; i < cs->count; i++) {
-		if (cs->challenges[i]->scheme == HTTPAS_BASIC)
-			basic = cs->challenges[i];
 		if (cs->challenges[i]->scheme == HTTPAS_DIGEST)
 			digest = cs->challenges[i];
 	}