diff --git a/socketutils.c b/socketutils.c
index 2de59cd..93f5f16 100644
--- a/socketutils.c
+++ b/socketutils.c
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@
 		  const char *proto_name,
 		  bool (* parser) (const char *, const void *, int, const unsigned long))
 {
-	static char buf[8192];
+	static long buf[8192 / sizeof(long)];
 	struct sockaddr_nl nladdr = {
 		.nl_family = AF_NETLINK
 	};