1 files changed, 1 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/io_buffer.c b/io_buffer.c
index 075a9bfb78..63f5bd2c24 100644
--- a/io_buffer.c
+++ b/io_buffer.c
@@ -1125,7 +1125,7 @@ io_buffer_get_string(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE self)
 
     size_t offset = 0;
     size_t length = data->size;
-    rb_encoding *encoding = NULL;
+    rb_encoding *encoding = rb_ascii8bit_encoding();
 
     if (argc >= 1) {
         offset = NUM2SIZET(argv[0]);