diff --git a/regex/split.c b/regex/split.c
index a3a11f793ed..abae74eba9c 100644
--- a/regex/split.c
+++ b/regex/split.c
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ char *argv[];
 
 	if (argc > 4)
 		for (n = atoi(argv[3]); n > 0; n--) {
+                        if(sizeof(buf)-1 < strlen(argv[1]))
+                        {
+                          exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+                        }
 			(void) strcpy(buf, argv[1]);
 		}
 	else if (argc > 3)