diff --git a/src/http_parser.cpp b/src/http_parser.cpp
index 52f6152fd..7bac6305b 100644
--- a/src/http_parser.cpp
+++ b/src/http_parser.cpp
@@ -476,8 +476,9 @@ restart_response:
 		if (*chunk_size != 0)
 		{
 			*header_size = newline - buf.begin;
-			// the newline alone is two bytes
-			TORRENT_ASSERT(newline - buf.begin > 2);
+			// the newline is at least 1 byte, and the length-prefix is at least 1
+			// byte
+			TORRENT_ASSERT(newline - buf.begin >= 2);
 			return true;
 		}