diff --git a/util/iov.c b/util/iov.c
index f705586808..bb46c04e4d 100644
--- a/util/iov.c
+++ b/util/iov.c
@@ -181,13 +181,11 @@ ssize_t iov_send_recv(int sockfd, struct iovec *iov, unsigned iov_cnt,
             assert(iov[niov].iov_len > tail);
             orig_len = iov[niov].iov_len;
             iov[niov++].iov_len = tail;
-        }
-
-        ret = do_send_recv(sockfd, iov, niov, do_send);
-
-        /* Undo the changes above before checking for errors */
-        if (tail) {
+            ret = do_send_recv(sockfd, iov, niov, do_send);
+            /* Undo the changes above before checking for errors */
             iov[niov-1].iov_len = orig_len;
+        } else {
+            ret = do_send_recv(sockfd, iov, niov, do_send);
         }
         if (offset) {
             iov[0].iov_base -= offset;