diff --git a/libavcodec/vvc/vvcdec.c b/libavcodec/vvc/vvcdec.c
index 8163b5ecb6..e88e746de4 100644
--- a/libavcodec/vvc/vvcdec.c
+++ b/libavcodec/vvc/vvcdec.c
@@ -594,6 +594,8 @@ static int frame_context_setup(VVCFrameContext *fc, VVCContext *s)
 {
     int ret;
 
+    fc->ref = NULL;
+
     // copy refs from the last frame
     if (s->nb_frames && s->nb_fcs > 1) {
         VVCFrameContext *prev = get_frame_context(s, fc, -1);