diff --git a/lib/hostip.c b/lib/hostip.c
index d02b30785374db13c82d6b804df66884cb457ab9..166173e24d49c479c54dffef881e991b4139d4e6 100644
--- a/lib/hostip.c
+++ b/lib/hostip.c
@@ -810,7 +810,7 @@ static struct hostent* pack_hostent(char** buf, struct hostent* orig)
 
   int i;
   char *str;
-  int len;
+  size_t len;
 
   bufptr = *buf;
   copy = (struct hostent*)bufptr;