diff --git a/src/nvim/statusline.c b/src/nvim/statusline.c
index 9876936d5d..7d77a6989a 100644
--- a/src/nvim/statusline.c
+++ b/src/nvim/statusline.c
@@ -1377,6 +1377,9 @@ int build_stl_str_hl(win_T *wp, char *out, size_t outlen, char *fmt, OptIndex op
       fmt_p++;
       if (ascii_isdigit(*fmt_p)) {
         maxwid = getdigits_int(&fmt_p, false, 50);
+        if (maxwid <= 0) {  // overflow or an explicit zero
+          maxwid = 50;
+        }
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua b/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua
index 16a2acb0e5..b42a8bbb01 100644
--- a/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua
+++ b/test/functional/api/vim_spec.lua
@@ -4537,6 +4537,13 @@ describe('API', function()
       }, api.nvim_eval_statusline('Should be truncated%<', { maxwidth = 15 }))
     end)
 
+    it('does not take a zero item width literally', function()
+      command('file some/dir/testfile.txt')
+      eq({ str = 'abc', width = 3 }, api.nvim_eval_statusline('%.0(abc%)', {}))
+      eq(api.nvim_eval_statusline('%.50f', {}), api.nvim_eval_statusline('%.0f', {}))
+      eq(api.nvim_eval_statusline('%.50l', {}), api.nvim_eval_statusline('%.0l', {}))
+    end)
+
     it('has correct default fillchar', function()
       local oldwin = api.nvim_get_current_win()
       command('set fillchars=stl:#,stlnc:$,wbr:%')