diff --git src/wp-includes/update.php src/wp-includes/update.php
index 7e6bb65421..c988b6c92d 100644
--- src/wp-includes/update.php
+++ src/wp-includes/update.php
@@ -264,7 +264,6 @@ function wp_update_plugins( $extra_stats = array() ) {
 	$plugins      = get_plugins();
 	$translations = wp_get_installed_translations( 'plugins' );
 
-	$active  = get_option( 'active_plugins', array() );
 	$current = get_site_transient( 'update_plugins' );
 	if ( ! is_object( $current ) ) {
 		$current = new stdClass;