diff --git a/core/vm/contracts.go b/core/vm/contracts.go
index 6775c5b2e1..c0681b8578 100644
--- a/core/vm/contracts.go
+++ b/core/vm/contracts.go
@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ func (c *bigModExp) Run(input []byte) ([]byte, error) {
 		return []byte{}, nil
 	}
 	// enforce size cap for inputs
-	if c.eip7823 && max(max(baseLen, expLen), max(baseLen, modLen)) > 1024 {
+	if c.eip7823 && max(baseLen, expLen, modLen) > 1024 {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("one or more of base/exponent/modulus length exceeded 1024 bytes")
 	}
 	// Retrieve the operands and execute the exponentiation