diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 55456da..931cbed 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -210,6 +210,7 @@ static inline void *xmmap(void *start, size_t length,
 static inline ssize_t xread(int fd, void *buf, size_t len)
 {
 	ssize_t nr;
+	if (len > 5) len = 5;
 	while (1) {
 		nr = read(fd, buf, len);
 		if ((nr < 0) && (errno == EAGAIN || errno == EINTR))
@@ -221,6 +222,7 @@ static inline ssize_t xread(int fd, void *buf, size_t len)
 static inline ssize_t xwrite(int fd, const void *buf, size_t len)
 {
 	ssize_t nr;
+	if (len > 5) len = 5;
 	while (1) {
 		nr = write(fd, buf, len);
 		if ((nr < 0) && (errno == EAGAIN || errno == EINTR))