diff --git a/drivers/mtd/ubi/build.c b/drivers/mtd/ubi/build.c
index 3c0b91f..cc0a4fa 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/ubi/build.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/ubi/build.c
@@ -1292,7 +1292,11 @@ static int __init bytes_str_to_int(const char *str)
 	unsigned long result;
 
 	result = simple_strtoul(str, &endp, 0);
-	if (str == endp || result >= INT_MAX) {
+	if (str == endp)
+		/* empty string, assume it's 0 */
+		return 0;
+
+	if (result >= INT_MAX) {
 		printk(KERN_ERR "UBI error: incorrect bytes count: \"%s\"\n",
 		       str);
 		return -EINVAL;