diff --git a/dlls/kernel/process.c b/dlls/kernel/process.c
index 68ca1271881..1776856f29a 100644
--- a/dlls/kernel/process.c
+++ b/dlls/kernel/process.c
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ static void *open_builtin_exe_file( const WCHAR *name, char *error, int error_si
     WCHAR *p;
     UINT i, len;
 
+    *file_exists = 0;
     if ((p = strrchrW( name, '/' ))) name = p + 1;
     if ((p = strrchrW( name, '\\' ))) name = p + 1;