diff --git a/drivers/staging/rtl8188eu/os_dep/ioctl_linux.c b/drivers/staging/rtl8188eu/os_dep/ioctl_linux.c
index d598fec4abbf..d8605be07a71 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/rtl8188eu/os_dep/ioctl_linux.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/rtl8188eu/os_dep/ioctl_linux.c
@@ -512,14 +512,12 @@ static int rtw_set_wpa_ie(struct adapter *padapter, char *pie, unsigned short ie
 	}
 
 	if (ielen) {
-		buf = kzalloc(ielen, GFP_KERNEL);
+		buf = kmemdup(pie, ielen, GFP_KERNEL);
 		if (buf == NULL) {
 			ret =  -ENOMEM;
 			goto exit;
 		}
 
-		memcpy(buf, pie, ielen);
-
 		/* dump */
 		{
 			int i;