diff --git a/buffered_file.c b/buffered_file.c
index 27627a1b71..1de47e04a8 100644
--- a/buffered_file.c
+++ b/buffered_file.c
@@ -65,9 +65,9 @@ static ssize_t buffered_flush(QEMUFileBuffered *s)
     DPRINTF("flushing %zu byte(s) of data\n", s->buffer_size);
 
     while (s->bytes_xfer < s->xfer_limit && offset < s->buffer_size) {
-
+        size_t to_send = MIN(s->buffer_size - offset, s->xfer_limit - s->bytes_xfer);
         ret = migrate_fd_put_buffer(s->migration_state, s->buffer + offset,
-                                    s->buffer_size - offset);
+                                    to_send);
         if (ret == -EAGAIN) {
             DPRINTF("backend not ready, freezing\n");
             ret = 0;