diff --git a/src/add-ons/kernel/file_systems/layers/write_overlay/write_overlay.cpp b/src/add-ons/kernel/file_systems/layers/write_overlay/write_overlay.cpp
index ba2d1b9f1d..070558fd51 100644
--- a/src/add-ons/kernel/file_systems/layers/write_overlay/write_overlay.cpp
+++ b/src/add-ons/kernel/file_systems/layers/write_overlay/write_overlay.cpp
@@ -1059,7 +1059,9 @@ OverlayInode::ReadSymlink(char *buffer, size_t *bufferSize)
 		if (!S_ISLNK(fStat.st_mode))
 			return B_BAD_VALUE;
 
-		return Read(NULL, 0, buffer, bufferSize, false, NULL);
+		status_t result = Read(NULL, 0, buffer, bufferSize, false, NULL);
+		*bufferSize = fStat.st_size;
+		return result;
 	}
 
 	if (fSuperVnode.ops->read_symlink == NULL)