diff --git a/mm/secretmem.c b/mm/secretmem.c
index 0b502625cd30..974b32ba8b9d 100644
--- a/mm/secretmem.c
+++ b/mm/secretmem.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 #define SECRETMEM_MODE_MASK	(0x0)
 #define SECRETMEM_FLAGS_MASK	SECRETMEM_MODE_MASK
 
-static bool secretmem_enable __ro_after_init;
+static bool secretmem_enable __ro_after_init = 1;
 module_param_named(enable, secretmem_enable, bool, 0400);
 MODULE_PARM_DESC(secretmem_enable,
 		 "Enable secretmem and memfd_secret(2) system call");