diff --git a/src/mpsd_hpc_tools/quota.py b/src/mpsd_hpc_tools/quota.py
index cbdeb91e6d0d5fd46c5e0b1cc43ec7e61f649f8e..c561b9bd8bc9a1e87825610d0031e6512061ede7 100644
--- a/src/mpsd_hpc_tools/quota.py
+++ b/src/mpsd_hpc_tools/quota.py
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ def get_ceph_attribute(path: str, attribute: str) -> int:
         value returned by getfattrs command (only integers support)
     """
     # getfattr command should return a single integer number
-    cmd = f"getfattr -n {attribute} --only-values --absolute-names {path}"
-    output = subprocess.check_output(cmd.split()).decode()
+    cmd = ["getfattr", "-n", attribute, "--only-values", "--absolute-names", path]
+    output = subprocess.check_output(cmd).decode()
     return int(output)