diff --git a/src/mariadb/protocol/decode.rs b/src/mariadb/protocol/decode.rs
index 6cfd7e59..9dfd2446 100644
--- a/src/mariadb/protocol/decode.rs
+++ b/src/mariadb/protocol/decode.rs
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ impl<'a> Decoder<'a> {
 
     #[inline]
     pub fn decode_string_lenenc(&mut self) -> Bytes {
-        let length = self.decode_int_1();
+        let length = self.decode_int_lenenc().unwrap_or(0usize);
         let value = self.buf.slice(self.index, self.index + length as usize);
         self.index = self.index + length as usize;
         value