diff --git a/src/ape.c b/src/ape.c
index fe04650..97131e4 100644
--- a/src/ape.c
+++ b/src/ape.c
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ int _ape_parse_field(ApeTag* tag) {
 
   // Bug 9942, APE tags can contain multiple items with a null separator
   tmp_ptr = buffer_ptr(&tag->tag_data);
-  while (tmp_ptr[0] != '\0' && val_length <= size) {
+  while (val_length <= size && tmp_ptr[0] != '\0') {
     val_length += 1;
     tmp_ptr    += 1;
   }