diff --git a/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c b/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c
index 78a0d0070c..a9c81457b3 100644
--- a/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c
+++ b/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ static int _esp_eth_get(netdev_t *netdev, netopt_t opt, void *val, size_t max_le
 
     switch (opt) {
         case NETOPT_ADDRESS:
-            assert(max_len == ETHERNET_ADDR_LEN);
+            assert(max_len >= ETHERNET_ADDR_LEN);
             esp_eth_get_mac((uint8_t *)val);
             return ETHERNET_ADDR_LEN;
         case NETOPT_LINK_CONNECTED: