diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/10121-sysrc-fix-split-first-separator.yml b/changelogs/fragments/10121-sysrc-fix-split-first-separator.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9044edff0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/10121-sysrc-fix-split-first-separator.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "sysrc - split the output of ``sysrc -e -a`` on the first ``=`` only (https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.general/issues/10120, https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.general/pull/10121)."
diff --git a/plugins/modules/sysrc.py b/plugins/modules/sysrc.py
index 3387483e46..dad379d1c0 100644
--- a/plugins/modules/sysrc.py
+++ b/plugins/modules/sysrc.py
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ class Sysrc(object):
         Use this dictionary to preform the tests.
         """
         (rc, out, err) = self.run_sysrc('-e', '-a')
-        conf = dict([i.split('=') for i in out.splitlines()])
+        conf = dict([i.split('=', 1) for i in out.splitlines()])
         if self.value is None:
             return self.name in conf
         else: