diff --git a/dd-trace-core/src/main/java/datadog/trace/core/util/PercentEscaper.java b/dd-trace-core/src/main/java/datadog/trace/core/util/PercentEscaper.java
index 5fb3665ae8e..cfe1f02b4a9 100644
--- a/dd-trace-core/src/main/java/datadog/trace/core/util/PercentEscaper.java
+++ b/dd-trace-core/src/main/java/datadog/trace/core/util/PercentEscaper.java
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ private static Escaped escapeSlow(String s, int index, boolean[] unsafeOctets) {
   private static int nextEscapeIndex(CharSequence csq, int index, int end, boolean[] unsafeOctets) {
     for (; index < end; index++) {
       char c = csq.charAt(index);
-      if (c <= unsafeOctets.length && unsafeOctets[c]) {
+      if (c < unsafeOctets.length && unsafeOctets[c]) {
         break;
       }
     }