diff --git a/src/arch/sparc/faults.cc b/src/arch/sparc/faults.cc
index 53e75765fc..b48055800c 100644
--- a/src/arch/sparc/faults.cc
+++ b/src/arch/sparc/faults.cc
@@ -814,7 +814,7 @@ TrapInstruction::invoke(ThreadContext *tc, const StaticInstPtr &inst)
 
     Process *p = tc->getProcessPtr();
 
-    SparcProcess *sp = dynamic_cast<SparcProcess *>(p);
+    M5_VAR_USED SparcProcess *sp = dynamic_cast<SparcProcess *>(p);
     assert(sp);
 
     auto *workload = dynamic_cast<SEWorkload *>(tc->getSystemPtr()->workload);