diff --git a/vnc.c b/vnc.c
index f0ebebd5dc..01bcc8d2b2 100644
--- a/vnc.c
+++ b/vnc.c
@@ -2329,10 +2329,8 @@ int vnc_display_open(DisplayState *ds, const char *display)
 	    end = strchr(options, ',');
 	    if (start && (!end || (start < end))) {
 		int len = end ? end-(start+1) : strlen(start+1);
-		char *path = qemu_malloc(len+1);
+		char *path = qemu_strndup(start + 1, len);
 
-                pstrcpy(path, len, start + 1);
-		path[len] = '\0';
 		VNC_DEBUG("Trying certificate path '%s'\n", path);
 		if (vnc_set_x509_credential_dir(vs, path) < 0) {
 		    fprintf(stderr, "Failed to find x509 certificates/keys in %s\n", path);