diff --git a/src/tool_writeout.c b/src/tool_writeout.c
index 39acac8f69..185b835125 100644
--- a/src/tool_writeout.c
+++ b/src/tool_writeout.c
@@ -572,7 +572,7 @@ static const char *outtime(const char *ptr, /* %time{ ... */
       if(timestr) {
         curl_off_t val;
         curlx_str_number(&timestr, &val, TIME_T_MAX);
-        cnow.tv_sec = (time_t)val;
+        cnow.tv_sec = (val < TIME_T_MAX) ? (time_t)val : TIME_T_MAX;
         cnow.tv_usec = (unsigned int)(val % 1000000);
       }
     }