diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/checkpoints/CheckpointFile.scala b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/checkpoints/CheckpointFile.scala
index 710792f727fbb..2ab9ab9b39318 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/checkpoints/CheckpointFile.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/checkpoints/CheckpointFile.scala
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ class CheckpointReadBuffer[T](location: String,
                               formatter: CheckpointFileFormatter[T]) extends Logging {
   def read(): Seq[T] = {
     def malformedLineException(line: String) =
-      new IOException(s"Malformed line in checkpoint file ($location): $line'")
+      new IOException(s"Malformed line in checkpoint file ($location): '$line'")
 
     var line: String = null
     try {