diff --git a/tools/source/generic/poly.cxx b/tools/source/generic/poly.cxx
index 0c04fc534051..c0546d2d2278 100644
--- a/tools/source/generic/poly.cxx
+++ b/tools/source/generic/poly.cxx
@@ -1598,7 +1598,7 @@ SvStream& WritePolygon( SvStream& rOStream, const Polygon& rPoly )
 
 void Polygon::ImplRead( SvStream& rIStream )
 {
-    sal_uInt8   bHasPolyFlags;
+    sal_uInt8 bHasPolyFlags(0);
 
     ReadPolygon( rIStream, *this );
     rIStream.ReadUChar( bHasPolyFlags );