diff --git a/src/V3String.cpp b/src/V3String.cpp
index 4b118a537..af6122e7d 100644
--- a/src/V3String.cpp
+++ b/src/V3String.cpp
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ bool VString::startsWith(const string& str, const string& prefix) {
 }
 
 bool VString::endsWith(const string& str, const string& suffix) {
+    if (str.length() < suffix.length()) return false;
     return str.compare(str.length() - suffix.length(), suffix.length(), suffix) == 0;
 }