diff --git a/hadoop-hdds/server-scm/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/server/SCMDatanodeProtocolServer.java b/hadoop-hdds/server-scm/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/server/SCMDatanodeProtocolServer.java
index ffd103921a17..4a549afa7730 100644
--- a/hadoop-hdds/server-scm/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/server/SCMDatanodeProtocolServer.java
+++ b/hadoop-hdds/server-scm/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdds/scm/server/SCMDatanodeProtocolServer.java
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 import com.google.common.collect.Maps;
 import com.google.protobuf.BlockingService;
 import com.google.protobuf.ProtocolMessageEnum;
+import com.google.protobuf.TextFormat;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -285,7 +286,7 @@ private String constructCommandAuditMap(List<SCMCommandProto> cmds) {
         auditMap.append(" encodedToken: \"").append(cmd.getEncodedToken()).append("\"");
         auditMap.append(" deadlineMsSinceEpoch: ").append(cmd.getDeadlineMsSinceEpoch());
       } else {
-        auditMap.append(cmd);
+        auditMap.append(TextFormat.shortDebugString(cmd));
       }
       auditMap.append(", ");
     }
@@ -308,7 +309,7 @@ public SCMHeartbeatResponseProto sendHeartbeat(
     boolean auditSuccess = true;
     Map<String, String> auditMap = Maps.newHashMap();
     auditMap.put("datanodeUUID", heartbeat.getDatanodeDetails().getUuid());
-    auditMap.put("command", flatten(constructCommandAuditMap(cmdResponses)));
+    auditMap.put("command", constructCommandAuditMap(cmdResponses));
     term.ifPresent(t -> auditMap.put("term", String.valueOf(t)));
     try {
       SCMHeartbeatResponseProto.Builder builder =
@@ -480,13 +481,6 @@ public AuditMessage buildAuditMessageForFailure(AuditAction op, Map<String,
         .build();
   }
 
-  private static String flatten(String input) {
-    return input
-        .replaceAll(System.lineSeparator(), " ")
-        .trim()
-        .replaceAll(" +", " ");
-  }
-
   /**
    * Get the ProtocolMessageMetrics for this server.
    * @return ProtocolMessageMetrics