diff --git a/components/engine/volume/volume.go b/components/engine/volume/volume.go
index 988cc14256..bd58af94f2 100644
--- a/components/engine/volume/volume.go
+++ b/components/engine/volume/volume.go
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ func (m *MountPoint) Type() string {
 // ParseVolumesFrom ensures that the supplied volumes-from is valid.
 func ParseVolumesFrom(spec string) (string, string, error) {
 	if len(spec) == 0 {
-		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("malformed volumes-from specification: %s", spec)
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("volumes-from specification cannot be an empty string")
 	}
 
 	specParts := strings.SplitN(spec, ":", 2)