diff --git a/sbin/devd/devd.cc b/sbin/devd/devd.cc
index afd57d452f06..a1b6ee479921 100644
--- a/sbin/devd/devd.cc
+++ b/sbin/devd/devd.cc
@@ -681,15 +681,15 @@ config::expand_one(const char *&src, string &dst, bool is_shell)
 	// This is the escape hatch for passing down shell subcommands
 	if (*src == '(') {
 		dst += '$';
-		count = 1;
+		count = 0;
 		/* If the string ends before ) is matched , return. */
-		while (count > 0 && *src) {
+		do {
 			if (*src == ')')
 				count--;
 			else if (*src == '(')
 				count++;
 			dst += *src++;
-		}
+		} while (count > 0 && *src);
 		return;
 	}