diff --git a/make/photon/db/docker-healthcheck.sh b/make/photon/db/docker-healthcheck.sh
index a0c93c0f7..e43ea4929 100644
--- a/make/photon/db/docker-healthcheck.sh
+++ b/make/photon/db/docker-healthcheck.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -eo pipefail
 
-host="$(hostname -i || echo '127.0.0.1')"
+h="$(hostname -i || echo '127.0.0.1')"
+host="${h%%[[:space:]]*}" #remove the trailing space
 user="${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres}"
 db="${POSTGRES_DB:-$POSTGRES_USER}"
 export PGPASSWORD="${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-}"