diff --git a/kernel/printk.c b/kernel/printk.c
index f492f1583d77..e651ab05655f 100644
--- a/kernel/printk.c
+++ b/kernel/printk.c
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ asmlinkage int vprintk(const char *fmt, va_list args)
 	if (recursion_bug) {
 		recursion_bug = 0;
 		strcpy(printk_buf, recursion_bug_msg);
-		printed_len = sizeof(recursion_bug_msg);
+		printed_len = strlen(recursion_bug_msg);
 	}
 	/* Emit the output into the temporary buffer */
 	printed_len += vscnprintf(printk_buf + printed_len,