diff --git a/cpp/ql/src/Likely Bugs/Memory Management/SuspiciousCallToMemset.ql b/cpp/ql/src/Likely Bugs/Memory Management/SuspiciousCallToMemset.ql
index 6e9b11cf37f1..bcbec1bd961d 100644
--- a/cpp/ql/src/Likely Bugs/Memory Management/SuspiciousCallToMemset.ql	
+++ b/cpp/ql/src/Likely Bugs/Memory Management/SuspiciousCallToMemset.ql	
@@ -52,13 +52,13 @@ Type stripType(Type t) {
 
 /**
  * Holds if `t` points to `base` via a specified number of levels of pointer
- * indirection.  Intermediate typedefs and array types are allowed.
+ * indirection.  Intermediate typedefs and array types are allowed. Note that
+ * `base` is a stripped type (via `stripType`).
  */
 predicate pointerIndirection(Type t, int indirection, Type base) {
-  exists(Type u |
-    u = stripType(t) and
-    u = stripType(base) and
-    not u instanceof PointerType and
+  (
+    base = stripType(t) and
+    not base instanceof PointerType and
     indirection = 0
   ) or (
     pointerIndirection(stripType(t).(PointerType).getBaseType(), indirection - 1, base)