diff --git a/src/config_file.c b/src/config_file.c
index c575649af..4ba83d1d9 100644
--- a/src/config_file.c
+++ b/src/config_file.c
@@ -820,7 +820,7 @@ fail_parse:
 
 static int skip_bom(diskfile_backend *cfg)
 {
-	static const char utf8_bom[] = "\xef\xbb\xbf";
+	static const char utf8_bom[] = { '\xef', '\xbb', '\xbf' };
 
 	if (cfg->reader.buffer.size < sizeof(utf8_bom))
 		return 0;