diff --git a/src/nnn.c b/src/nnn.c
index 98069fb6..b31418cf 100644
--- a/src/nnn.c
+++ b/src/nnn.c
@@ -2918,7 +2918,7 @@ static bool parsekvpair(kv **arr, char **envcpy, const uchar id, ushort *items)
 	if (!maxitems)
 		return FALSE;
 
-	*arr = malloc(maxitems * sizeof(kv));
+	*arr = calloc(maxitems, sizeof(kv));
 	if (!arr) {
 		xerror();
 		return FALSE;