diff --git a/sys/config/src/config.c b/sys/config/src/config.c
index 3e675b6b1a..6fc22893be 100644
--- a/sys/config/src/config.c
+++ b/sys/config/src/config.c
@@ -139,6 +139,9 @@ conf_parse_name(char *name, int *name_argc, char *name_argv[])
 
     i = 0;
     while (tok) {
+        if (i >= CONF_MAX_DIR_DEPTH) {
+            return -1;
+        }
         name_argv[i++] = tok;
         tok = strtok_r(NULL, sep, &tok_ptr);
     }