diff --git a/lib/go/thrift/binary_protocol.go b/lib/go/thrift/binary_protocol.go
index 3f2843ef96..78d9f04206 100644
--- a/lib/go/thrift/binary_protocol.go
+++ b/lib/go/thrift/binary_protocol.go
@@ -597,14 +597,18 @@ func safeReadBytes(size int32, trans io.Reader) ([]byte, error) {
 	if size < 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
-	if size > bytes.MinRead {
-		// Use bytes.Buffer to prevent allocating size bytes when size is very large
-		buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
-		_, err := io.CopyN(buf, trans, int64(size))
-		return buf.Bytes(), err
-	}
-	// Allocate size bytes
-	b := make([]byte, size)
-	n, err := io.ReadFull(trans, b)
-	return b[:n], err
+
+	// Fast path for reads smaller than 10 MiB that only allocates exactly
+	// what is asked for.
+	const readLimit = 10 * 1024 * 1024
+	if size < readLimit {
+		b := make([]byte, size)
+		n, err := io.ReadFull(trans, b)
+		return b[:n], err
+	}
+
+	// Use bytes.Buffer to prevent allocating size bytes when size is very large
+	buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
+	_, err := io.CopyN(buf, trans, int64(size))
+	return buf.Bytes(), err
 }