diff --git a/res/res_http_websocket.c b/res/res_http_websocket.c
index b5d50e6b96..d6cd359946 100644
--- a/res/res_http_websocket.c
+++ b/res/res_http_websocket.c
@@ -1473,11 +1473,10 @@ int AST_OPTIONAL_API_NAME(ast_websocket_read_string)
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (!(*buf = ast_malloc(payload_len + 1))) {
+	if (!(*buf = ast_strndup(payload, payload_len))) {
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	ast_copy_string(*buf, payload, payload_len + 1);
 	return payload_len + 1;
 }