diff --git a/tools/perf/util/sort.c b/tools/perf/util/sort.c
index f44fa541d56e..0ffbc8e5b4b5 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/sort.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/sort.c
@@ -122,6 +122,9 @@ static int repsep_snprintf(char *bf, size_t size, const char *fmt, ...)
 		}
 	}
 	va_end(ap);
+
+	if (n >= (int)size)
+		return size - 1;
 	return n;
 }