diff --git a/nixos/modules/system/boot/kernel.nix b/nixos/modules/system/boot/kernel.nix
index 46f2e3fec04c..4a9da9394519 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/system/boot/kernel.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/system/boot/kernel.nix
@@ -83,7 +83,10 @@ in
     };
 
     boot.kernelParams = mkOption {
-      type = types.listOf types.str;
+      type = types.listOf (types.strMatching ''([^"[:space:]]|"[^"]*")+'' // {
+        name = "kernelParam";
+        description = "string, with spaces inside double quotes";
+      });
       default = [ ];
       description = "Parameters added to the kernel command line.";
     };