diff --git a/src/barebox-state.c b/src/barebox-state.c
index 748a5b4..02e085b 100644
--- a/src/barebox-state.c
+++ b/src/barebox-state.c
@@ -1871,8 +1871,12 @@
 	char *str;
 	int ret;
 
-	ret = asprintf(&str, "%s", string->raw);
-	if (ret < 0)
+	if (string->raw[0])
+		str = strndup(string->raw, string->var.size);
+	else
+		str = strdup("");
+
+	if (!str)
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
 
 	return str;