diff --git a/drivers/hv/channel.c b/drivers/hv/channel.c
index 603ce97e9027283044b5da16ed15436a7ddcd3af..c4dcab048cb8ecbc38b7784408bfd7902d5a40a7 100644
--- a/drivers/hv/channel.c
+++ b/drivers/hv/channel.c
@@ -601,6 +601,7 @@ int vmbus_sendpacket_ctl(struct vmbus_channel *channel, void *buffer,
 	u64 aligned_data = 0;
 	int ret;
 	bool signal = false;
+	int num_vecs = ((bufferlen != 0) ? 3 : 1);
 
 
 	/* Setup the descriptor */
@@ -618,7 +619,8 @@ int vmbus_sendpacket_ctl(struct vmbus_channel *channel, void *buffer,
 	bufferlist[2].iov_base = &aligned_data;
 	bufferlist[2].iov_len = (packetlen_aligned - packetlen);
 
-	ret = hv_ringbuffer_write(&channel->outbound, bufferlist, 3, &signal);
+	ret = hv_ringbuffer_write(&channel->outbound, bufferlist, num_vecs,
+				  &signal);
 
 	/*
 	 * Signalling the host is conditional on many factors: