diff --git a/lib/efi_loader/efi_variable.c b/lib/efi_loader/efi_variable.c
index a10b9caa8b0..0c689cfb470 100644
--- a/lib/efi_loader/efi_variable.c
+++ b/lib/efi_loader/efi_variable.c
@@ -393,6 +393,7 @@ efi_status_t efi_set_variable_int(u16 *variable_name, const efi_guid_t *vendor,
 
 	if (delete) {
 		/* EFI_NOT_FOUND has been handled before */
+		attributes = var->attr;
 		ret = EFI_SUCCESS;
 	} else if (append) {
 		u16 *old_data = var->name;