diff --git a/net/core/dev.c b/net/core/dev.c
index 4ed77d7245c0..f6d8d7fe29ab 100644
--- a/net/core/dev.c
+++ b/net/core/dev.c
@@ -940,7 +940,7 @@ bool dev_valid_name(const char *name)
 		return false;
 
 	while (*name) {
-		if (*name == '/' || isspace(*name))
+		if (*name == '/' || *name == ':' || isspace(*name))
 			return false;
 		name++;
 	}