diff --git a/src/lib/ares__buf.c b/src/lib/ares__buf.c
index 0a7d2f7f..cbf832bd 100644
--- a/src/lib/ares__buf.c
+++ b/src/lib/ares__buf.c
@@ -902,5 +902,5 @@ ares_status_t ares__buf_hexdump(ares__buf_t *buf, const unsigned char *data,
     ares__buf_append_byte(buf, '\n');
   }
 
-  return status;
+  return ARES_SUCCESS;
 }