diff --git a/net/sunrpc/auth_gss/svcauth_gss.c b/net/sunrpc/auth_gss/svcauth_gss.c
index 4eb537410cb5..764b4d82951d 100644
--- a/net/sunrpc/auth_gss/svcauth_gss.c
+++ b/net/sunrpc/auth_gss/svcauth_gss.c
@@ -1575,6 +1575,9 @@ svcauth_gss_decode_credbody(struct xdr_stream *xdr,
 	u32 body_len;
 	__be32 *p;
 
+	/* Early-return paths leave deterministic state, not stale residue. */
+	memset(gc, 0, sizeof(*gc));
+
 	p = xdr_inline_decode(xdr, XDR_UNIT);
 	if (!p)
 		return false;