diff --git a/src/haproxy.c b/src/haproxy.c
index 4b3393a..75228c7 100644
--- a/src/haproxy.c
+++ b/src/haproxy.c
@@ -2921,6 +2921,9 @@
 
 	/* take a copy of initial limits before we possibly change them */
 	getrlimit(RLIMIT_NOFILE, &limit);
+
+	if (limit.rlim_max == RLIM_INFINITY)
+		limit.rlim_max = limit.rlim_cur;
 	rlim_fd_cur_at_boot = limit.rlim_cur;
 	rlim_fd_max_at_boot = limit.rlim_max;