diff --git a/Source/cmTryRunCommand.cxx b/Source/cmTryRunCommand.cxx
index dcaa4939ec..932b976be1 100644
--- a/Source/cmTryRunCommand.cxx
+++ b/Source/cmTryRunCommand.cxx
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 #include "cmsys/FStream.hxx"
 #include <stdio.h>
-#include <string.h>
 
 #include "cmMakefile.h"
 #include "cmState.h"
@@ -191,13 +190,15 @@ void cmTryRunCommand::RunExecutable(const std::string& runArgs,
     finalCommand.c_str(), out, out, &retVal, nullptr,
     cmSystemTools::OUTPUT_NONE, timeout);
   // set the run var
-  char retChar[1000];
+  char retChar[16];
+  const char* retStr;
   if (worked) {
     sprintf(retChar, "%i", retVal);
+    retStr = retChar;
   } else {
-    strcpy(retChar, "FAILED_TO_RUN");
+    retStr = "FAILED_TO_RUN";
   }
-  this->Makefile->AddCacheDefinition(this->RunResultVariable, retChar,
+  this->Makefile->AddCacheDefinition(this->RunResultVariable, retStr,
                                      "Result of TRY_RUN",
                                      cmStateEnums::INTERNAL);
 }