diff --git a/src/user/app/cat/cat.c b/src/user/app/cat/cat.c
index 70a2465..b7820be 100644
--- a/src/user/app/cat/cat.c
+++ b/src/user/app/cat/cat.c
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 #define BLOCK_SIZE 65536
 
 exit_code_t pass(uint64_t fd) {
-  char buffer[BLOCK_SIZE];
+  static char buffer[BLOCK_SIZE];
   uint64_t bytes;
   while ((bytes = read(fd, BLOCK_SIZE, buffer))) {
     if (bytes == (uint64_t)-1) {
diff --git a/src/user/app/wc/wc.c b/src/user/app/wc/wc.c
index afb002e..36f20af 100644
--- a/src/user/app/wc/wc.c
+++ b/src/user/app/wc/wc.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #define BLOCK_SIZE 65536
 
 exit_code_t pass(uint64_t fd) {
-  char buffer[BLOCK_SIZE];
+  static char buffer[BLOCK_SIZE];
   uint64_t bytes;
   uint64_t total = 0;
   while ((bytes = read(fd, BLOCK_SIZE, buffer))) {