diff --git a/src/vnet/dns/dns.c b/src/vnet/dns/dns.c
index 15d40be..7d52f75 100644
--- a/src/vnet/dns/dns.c
+++ b/src/vnet/dns/dns.c
@@ -2684,7 +2684,7 @@
 			    vlib_cli_command_t * cmd)
 {
   dns_main_t *dm = &dns_main;
-  u8 *name;
+  u8 *name = 0;
   uword *p;
   clib_error_t *e;
   dns_cache_entry_t *ep;
@@ -2694,6 +2694,8 @@
       vec_add1 (name, 0);
       _vec_len (name) -= 1;
     }
+  else
+    return clib_error_return (0, "no name provided");
 
   dns_cache_lock (dm);