diff --git a/exec.c b/exec.c
index 891e0ee..985bdde 100644
--- a/exec.c
+++ b/exec.c
@@ -2569,5 +2569,5 @@ static void *file_ram_alloc(ram_addr_t memory, const char *path)
     fd = mkstemp(filename);
     if (fd < 0) {
-	perror("mkstemp");
+	perror("unable to create backing store for hugepages");
 	free(filename);
 	return NULL;