diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 0db79f9cf6..1757a3f4e0 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -597,6 +597,7 @@ int match_pathname(const char *pathname, int pathlen,
 	 */
 	if (*pattern == '/') {
 		pattern++;
+		patternlen--;
 		prefix--;
 	}