diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py b/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
index 4673742b616..0c4fce3373f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ class CronTab(object):
             fileh = open(self.cron_file, 'w')
         else:
             filed, path = tempfile.mkstemp(prefix='crontab')
-            os.chmod(path, 0o644)
+            os.chmod(path, 0644)
             fileh = os.fdopen(filed, 'w')
 
         fileh.write(self.render())