diff --git a/lib/nlattr.c b/lib/nlattr.c
index 18eca7809b08..fc6754720ced 100644
--- a/lib/nlattr.c
+++ b/lib/nlattr.c
@@ -303,9 +303,15 @@ int nla_memcmp(const struct nlattr *nla, const void *data,
  */
 int nla_strcmp(const struct nlattr *nla, const char *str)
 {
-	int len = strlen(str) + 1;
-	int d = nla_len(nla) - len;
+	int len = strlen(str);
+	char *buf = nla_data(nla);
+	int attrlen = nla_len(nla);
+	int d;
 
+	if (attrlen > 0 && buf[attrlen - 1] == '\0')
+		attrlen--;
+
+	d = attrlen - len;
 	if (d == 0)
 		d = memcmp(nla_data(nla), str, len);