diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace.c b/kernel/trace/trace.c
index 71ed0616d83bd..953dd9568dd74 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace.c
@@ -1490,10 +1490,12 @@ static int __init set_buf_size(char *str)
 	if (!str)
 		return 0;
 	buf_size = memparse(str, &str);
-	/* nr_entries can not be zero */
-	if (buf_size == 0)
-		return 0;
-	trace_buf_size = buf_size;
+	/*
+	 * nr_entries can not be zero and the startup
+	 * tests require some buffer space. Therefore
+	 * ensure we have at least 4096 bytes of buffer.
+	 */
+	trace_buf_size = max(4096UL, buf_size);
 	return 1;
 }
 __setup("trace_buf_size=", set_buf_size);