diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Config.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Config.java
index 71f863589..16db71703 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Config.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Config.java
@@ -1494,12 +1494,10 @@ private static class StringReader {
 		}
 
 		int read() {
-			try {
-				return buf[pos++];
-			} catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
-				pos = buf.length;
+			if (pos >= buf.length) {
 				return -1;
 			}
+			return buf[pos++];
 		}
 
 		void reset() {