diff --git a/lib/string.c b/lib/string.c
index ce81aaec3839..a5792019193c 100644
--- a/lib/string.c
+++ b/lib/string.c
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(memset);
 void memzero_explicit(void *s, size_t count)
 {
 	memset(s, 0, count);
-	OPTIMIZER_HIDE_VAR(s);
+	barrier();
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(memzero_explicit);