diff --git a/phpBB/phpbb/notification/type/admin_activate_user.php b/phpBB/phpbb/notification/type/admin_activate_user.php
index 5f146e18ff..426da4db03 100644
--- a/phpBB/phpbb/notification/type/admin_activate_user.php
+++ b/phpBB/phpbb/notification/type/admin_activate_user.php
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class admin_activate_user extends \phpbb\notification\type\base
 			WHERE user_type = ' . USER_FOUNDER;
 		$result = $this->db->sql_query($sql);
 
-		while ($row = $this->db->sql_fetchrow($sql))
+		while ($row = $this->db->sql_fetchrow($result))
 		{
 			$users[] = (int) $row['user_id'];
 		}