diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/e1000e/nvm.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/e1000e/nvm.c
index 71938ed..1e7882c 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/e1000e/nvm.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/e1000e/nvm.c
@@ -464,8 +464,8 @@
 	if (nvm_data != NVM_PBA_PTR_GUARD) {
 		e_dbg("NVM PBA number is not stored as string\n");
 
-		/* we will need 11 characters to store the PBA */
-		if (pba_num_size < 11) {
+		/* make sure callers buffer is big enough to store the PBA */
+		if (pba_num_size < E1000_PBANUM_LENGTH) {
 			e_dbg("PBA string buffer too small\n");
 			return E1000_ERR_NO_SPACE;
 		}