diff --git a/src/vppinfra/mem_dlmalloc.c b/src/vppinfra/mem_dlmalloc.c
index 2cd924a..0401df5 100644
--- a/src/vppinfra/mem_dlmalloc.c
+++ b/src/vppinfra/mem_dlmalloc.c
@@ -201,6 +201,8 @@
 {
   u8 *heap;
 
+  clib_mem_main_init ();
+
   if (memory)
     {
       heap = create_mspace_with_base (memory, memory_size, 1 /* locked */ );