diff --git a/kernel/panic.c b/kernel/panic.c
index 574ee5a12f92..91e48d33b7db 100644
--- a/kernel/panic.c
+++ b/kernel/panic.c
@@ -884,7 +884,7 @@ static __init int alloc_taint_buf(void)
 
 	size += 1; /* For NULL terminator */
 
-	buf = kmalloc(size, GFP_KERNEL);
+	buf = kzalloc(size, GFP_KERNEL);
 
 	if (!buf) {
 		panic("Failed to allocate taint string buffer");