diff --git a/src/htsmsg_binary.c b/src/htsmsg_binary.c
index d442c243e..4494e2df6 100644
--- a/src/htsmsg_binary.c
+++ b/src/htsmsg_binary.c
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ htsmsg_binary_des0(htsmsg_t *msg, const uint8_t *buf, size_t len)
       return -1;

     nlen = namelen ? namelen + 1 : 1;
+    nlen = (nlen + sizeof(int) - 1) & ~(sizeof(int) - 1);
     tlen = sizeof(htsmsg_field_t) + nlen;
     if (type == HMF_STR) {
       tlen += datalen + 1;