diff --git a/yarn/common/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/ClientBase.scala b/yarn/common/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/ClientBase.scala
index a1298e8f30b5cef8fb606822a3991505d8a8e5cc..b7e8636e02eb215610d93f8dd40395a9229f7a1e 100644
--- a/yarn/common/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/ClientBase.scala
+++ b/yarn/common/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/ClientBase.scala
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ trait ClientBase extends Logging {
     if (amMem > maxMem) {
 
       val errorMessage = "Required AM memory (%d) is above the max threshold (%d) of this cluster."
-        .format(args.amMemory, maxMem)
+        .format(amMem, maxMem)
       logError(errorMessage)
       throw new IllegalArgumentException(errorMessage)
     }