diff --git a/transport-helper.c b/transport-helper.c
index 4d95d84f9e..4614036c99 100644
--- a/transport-helper.c
+++ b/transport-helper.c
@@ -781,7 +781,8 @@ static int push_update_ref_status(struct strbuf *buf,
 
 	if (starts_with(buf->buf, "option ")) {
 		struct object_id old_oid, new_oid;
-		const char *key, *val;
+		char *key;
+		const char *val;
 		char *p;
 
 		if (!state->hint || !(state->report || state->new_report))