diff --git a/user/edit.php b/user/edit.php
index c7261272851..751c9d5b406 100644
--- a/user/edit.php
+++ b/user/edit.php
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@
         if (! $authplugin->user_update($user, $userform->get_data(false))) {
             // auth update failed, rollback for moodle
             update_record('user', addslashes_object($user));
-            error('Failed to update user data on external auth: '.$usernew->auth.
+            error('Failed to update user data on external auth: '.$user->auth.
                     '. See the server logs for more details.');
         }
 
diff --git a/user/editadvanced.php b/user/editadvanced.php
index dd42e2e7525..c76674e71f9 100644
--- a/user/editadvanced.php
+++ b/user/editadvanced.php
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@
             if (! $authplugin->user_update($user, $userform->get_data(false))) {
                 // auth update failed, rollback for moodle
                 update_record('user', addslashes_object($user));
-                error('Failed to update user data on external auth: '.$usernew->auth.
+                error('Failed to update user data on external auth: '.$user->auth.
                         '. See the server logs for more details.');
             }