diff --git a/pulsar-common/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/common/protocol/PulsarHandler.java b/pulsar-common/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/common/protocol/PulsarHandler.java
index 481517c794ab92..f9e7b47f73731a 100644
--- a/pulsar-common/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/common/protocol/PulsarHandler.java
+++ b/pulsar-common/src/main/java/org/apache/pulsar/common/protocol/PulsarHandler.java
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public abstract class PulsarHandler extends PulsarDecoder {
     protected SocketAddress remoteAddress;
     private int remoteEndpointProtocolVersion = ProtocolVersion.v0.getValue();
     private final long keepAliveIntervalSeconds;
-    private boolean waitingForPingResponse = false;
+    private volatile boolean waitingForPingResponse = false;
     private ScheduledFuture<?> keepAliveTask;
 
     public int getRemoteEndpointProtocolVersion() {