diff --git a/Lib/pickle.py b/Lib/pickle.py
index 5b95cba..508e858 100644
--- a/Lib/pickle.py
+++ b/Lib/pickle.py
@@ -962,7 +962,7 @@
         rep = self.readline()[:-1]
         for q in "\"'": # double or single quote
             if rep.startswith(q):
-                if not rep.endswith(q):
+                if len(rep) < 2 or not rep.endswith(q):
                     raise ValueError, "insecure string pickle"
                 rep = rep[len(q):-len(q)]
                 break