diff --git a/src/mergerfs_api.cpp b/src/mergerfs_api.cpp
index 91ef1014..b8389998 100644
--- a/src/mergerfs_api.cpp
+++ b/src/mergerfs_api.cpp
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ get_kv(const fs::path    &mountpoint_,
 
   cfgfile = ::_mergerfs_config_file(mountpoint_);
 
-  fs::xattr::get(cfgfile,key_);
+  val = fs::xattr::get(cfgfile,key_);
 
   return val;
 }