diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 26c8b842f..6512a286b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 - core: fix integer overflow in base32 encoding/decoding
 - core: fix integer overflow in function util_version_number
 - core: fix buffer overflow in function util_parse_time
+- core: fix buffer overflow in function eval_syntax_highlight_colorize
 - core: fix memory leak in function util_parse_delay
 
 ## Version 4.6.2 (2025-04-18)
diff --git a/src/core/core-eval.c b/src/core/core-eval.c
index c670ccf46..bfd8ee890 100644
--- a/src/core/core-eval.c
+++ b/src/core/core-eval.c
@@ -1572,7 +1572,8 @@ eval_syntax_highlight_colorize (const char *value)
             else if (ptr_value[0] == '-')
                 color--;
         }
-        ptr_value++;
+        if (ptr_value[0])
+            ptr_value++;
         if (config_num_eval_syntax_colors > 0)
         {
             string_dyn_concat (