diff --git a/lib/editline/editline.c b/lib/editline/editline.c
index 11b73a91a..606b06a83 100644
--- a/lib/editline/editline.c
+++ b/lib/editline/editline.c
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ TTYinfo()
        TTYrows = SCREEN_ROWS;
        return;
     }
-    backspace = tgetstr("le", &bp);
+    backspace = strdup(tgetstr("le", &bp));
     TTYwidth = tgetnum("co");
     TTYrows = tgetnum("li");