diff --git a/src/storage/storage_backend.c b/src/storage/storage_backend.c
index 5b61bba3bae9c2f4d4aa6fd1123b9b6862ae801a..d9897434d56b0e367b69eedcd3553272a7d8e2e4 100644
--- a/src/storage/storage_backend.c
+++ b/src/storage/storage_backend.c
@@ -232,7 +232,6 @@ virStorageBackendCreateBlockFrom(virConnectPtr conn ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
     }
 
     if (fstat(fd, &st) == -1) {
-        ret = errno;
         virReportSystemError(errno, _("stat of '%s' failed"),
                              vol->target.path);
         goto cleanup;