diff --git a/drivers/tty/tty_io.c b/drivers/tty/tty_io.c
index 3949d9527e6d..e5695467598f 100644
--- a/drivers/tty/tty_io.c
+++ b/drivers/tty/tty_io.c
@@ -1025,11 +1025,17 @@ void start_tty(struct tty_struct *tty)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(start_tty);
 
-/* We limit tty time update visibility to every 8 seconds or so. */
 static void tty_update_time(struct timespec *time)
 {
 	unsigned long sec = get_seconds();
-	if (abs(sec - time->tv_sec) & ~7)
+
+	/*
+	 * We only care if the two values differ in anything other than the
+	 * lower three bits (i.e every 8 seconds).  If so, then we can update
+	 * the time of the tty device, otherwise it could be construded as a
+	 * security leak to let userspace know the exact timing of the tty.
+	 */
+	if ((sec ^ time->tv_sec) & ~7)
 		time->tv_sec = sec;
 }