diff --git a/sbin/fsdb/fsdb.c b/sbin/fsdb/fsdb.c
index 785aeb2b5a75..b8f0dd9f9772 100644
--- a/sbin/fsdb/fsdb.c
+++ b/sbin/fsdb/fsdb.c
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		fsys = argv[0];
 
 	sblock_init();
+	bufinit();
 	if (!setup(fsys))
 		errx(1, "cannot set up file system `%s'", fsys);
 	if (fswritefd < 0)