diff --git a/src/wp-includes/cron.php b/src/wp-includes/cron.php
index c3a281a626dd5..4912d5f5035c8 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/cron.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/cron.php
@@ -863,7 +863,7 @@ function spawn_cron( $gmt_time = 0 ) {
 	 * Multiple processes on multiple web servers can run this code concurrently,
 	 * this lock attempts to make spawning as atomic as possible.
 	 */
-	$lock = get_transient( 'doing_cron' );
+	$lock = (float) get_transient( 'doing_cron' );
 
 	if ( $lock > $gmt_time + 10 * MINUTE_IN_SECONDS ) {
 		$lock = 0;