diff --git a/lib/utils.c b/lib/utils.c
index 1b422224..efaf377e 100644
--- a/lib/utils.c
+++ b/lib/utils.c
@@ -700,7 +700,7 @@ ssize_t getcmdline(char **linep, size_t *lenp, FILE *in)
 	while ((cp = strstr(*linep, "\\\n")) != NULL) {
 		char *line1 = NULL;
 		size_t len1 = 0;
-		size_t cc1;
+		ssize_t cc1;
 
 		if ((cc1 = getline(&line1, &len1, in)) < 0) {
 			fprintf(stderr, "Missing continuation line\n");