diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index a63dd39e..77d6cd22 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ debian-cd (3.1.36) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
   [ Jonathan Hettwer ]
   * Avoid embedding timestamps into gzipped Packages and Translations files.
   * Pass --invariant and -i deb00001 to mkfs.msdos
+  * Remove complaint about unset variable default_desktop when using a mirror
+    without task packages.
 
   [ Samuel Thibault ]
   * On firmware images, include the sound firmwares in the espeakup-enabled
diff --git a/tools/update_tasks b/tools/update_tasks
index 03e03ac9..9e767b67 100755
--- a/tools/update_tasks
+++ b/tools/update_tasks
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ if ($coreutils_deb =~ m/_([[:alnum:]-]+)\.deb/) {
 
 # used in a few places to decide what happens when doing "generic"
 # discs.
-my $default_desktop; 
+my $default_desktop = "";
 
 # Find the dependency information of the task-desktop deb to see what
 # the default desktop should be