diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c b/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c
index c15386cb103318..0cf1c5a2e03233 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-lock.c
@@ -2052,6 +2052,7 @@ static int __cmd_contention(int argc, const char **argv)
 	if (IS_ERR(session)) {
 		pr_err("Initializing perf session failed\n");
 		err = PTR_ERR(session);
+		session = NULL;
 		goto out_delete;
 	}