diff --git a/src/http/ngx_http_variables.c b/src/http/ngx_http_variables.c
index 48b46f07d..120145829 100644
--- a/src/http/ngx_http_variables.c
+++ b/src/http/ngx_http_variables.c
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ ngx_http_get_indexed_variable(ngx_http_request_t *r, ngx_uint_t index)
     r->variables[index].valid = 0;
     r->variables[index].not_found = 1;
 
-    return &r->variables[index];
+    return NULL;
 }