diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 6f8f6984..7c1d1bcc 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ byobu (5.128) unreleased; urgency=medium
   * usr/lib/byobu/processes:
     - Handle stderr for ps, e.g. unsupported options
     - Remove unnecessary awk call; wc -l only outputs one value
+  * usr/lib/byobu/release:
+    - Fix typo
   * usr/share/byobu/keybindings/f-keys.tmux:
     - Remove -k for new-window. In older versions of tmux, -k without
       -t <target-window> had no effect. In tmux 2.8, -k without -t will
diff --git a/usr/lib/byobu/release b/usr/lib/byobu/release
index 3328a1a4..382dbf81 100755
--- a/usr/lib/byobu/release
+++ b/usr/lib/byobu/release
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ __release() {
 		true
 	elif [ -r "/etc/os-release" ]; then
 		# lsb_release is *really* slow;  try to use /etc/os-release
-		release=$(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_ID")
+		RELEASE=$(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_ID")
 	elif [ -r "/etc/issue" ]; then
 		# next try /etc/issue first
 		local issue