diff --git a/src/backend/commands/trigger.c b/src/backend/commands/trigger.c
index 537590304e8..b393ee87ad1 100644
--- a/src/backend/commands/trigger.c
+++ b/src/backend/commands/trigger.c
@@ -885,9 +885,16 @@ CreateTriggerFiringOn(CreateTrigStmt *stmt, const char *queryString,
 	{
 		ListCell   *le;
 		char	   *args;
-		int16		nargs = list_length(stmt->args);
+		int			nargs = list_length(stmt->args);
 		int			len = 0;
 
+		Assert(nargs >= 0);
+		if (nargs > PG_INT16_MAX)
+			ereport(ERROR,
+					errcode(ERRCODE_TOO_MANY_ARGUMENTS),
+					errmsg("triggers cannot have more than %d arguments",
+						   PG_INT16_MAX));
+
 		foreach(le, stmt->args)
 		{
 			char	   *ar = strVal(lfirst(le));