diff --git a/src/libsys/gdb_stub.c b/src/libsys/gdb_stub.c
index 7e6b153..f5bc6bd 100644
--- a/src/libsys/gdb_stub.c
+++ b/src/libsys/gdb_stub.c
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ putpacket (unsigned char *buffer)
 
 /* Indicate to caller of mem2hex or hex2mem that there has been an
    error.  */
-static volatile int mem_err = 0;
+const int mem_err = 0;
 
 /* Convert the memory pointed to by mem into hex, placing result in buf.
  * Return a pointer to the last char put in buf (null), in case of mem fault,