diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_vdev.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_vdev.c
index 5abdba0910..e00dda9aa3 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_vdev.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_vdev.c
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ alloc_devargs(const char *name, const char *args)
 	devargs->bus = &rte_vdev_bus;
 	if (args)
 		devargs->args = strdup(args);
+	else
+		devargs->args = strdup("");
 
 	ret = snprintf(devargs->name, sizeof(devargs->name), "%s", name);
 	if (ret < 0 || ret >= (int)sizeof(devargs->name)) {