diff --git a/transport-helper.c b/transport-helper.c
index 0c00be9dc..0cfc9ae90 100644
--- a/transport-helper.c
+++ b/transport-helper.c
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ static struct child_process *get_helper(struct transport *transport)
 			ALLOC_GROW(refspecs,
 				   refspec_nr + 1,
 				   refspec_alloc);
-			refspecs[refspec_nr++] = strdup(buf.buf + strlen("refspec "));
+			refspecs[refspec_nr++] = strdup(capname + strlen("refspec "));
 		} else if (!strcmp(capname, "connect")) {
 			data->connect = 1;
 		} else if (mandatory) {