diff --git a/tools/power/cpupower/utils/cpufreq-set.c b/tools/power/cpupower/utils/cpufreq-set.c
index dd1539eb8c63..a416de80c55e 100644
--- a/tools/power/cpupower/utils/cpufreq-set.c
+++ b/tools/power/cpupower/utils/cpufreq-set.c
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ int cmd_freq_set(int argc, char **argv)
 				print_unknown_arg();
 				return -EINVAL;
 			}
-			if ((sscanf(optarg, "%s", gov)) != 1) {
+			if ((sscanf(optarg, "%19s", gov)) != 1) {
 				print_unknown_arg();
 				return -EINVAL;
 			}