diff --git a/server/wal/decoder.go b/server/wal/decoder.go
index 0251a7213..2656d286a 100644
--- a/server/wal/decoder.go
+++ b/server/wal/decoder.go
@@ -15,12 +15,13 @@
 package wal
 
 import (
-	"bufio"
 	"encoding/binary"
+	"fmt"
 	"hash"
 	"io"
 	"sync"
 
+	"go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3/fileutil"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/pkg/v3/crc"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/pkg/v3/pbutil"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/raft/v3/raftpb"
@@ -34,17 +35,17 @@ const frameSizeBytes = 8
 
 type decoder struct {
 	mu  sync.Mutex
-	brs []*bufio.Reader
+	brs []*fileutil.FileBufReader
 
 	// lastValidOff file offset following the last valid decoded record
 	lastValidOff int64
 	crc          hash.Hash32
 }
 
-func newDecoder(r ...io.Reader) *decoder {
-	readers := make([]*bufio.Reader, len(r))
+func newDecoder(r ...fileutil.FileReader) *decoder {
+	readers := make([]*fileutil.FileBufReader, len(r))
 	for i := range r {
-		readers[i] = bufio.NewReader(r[i])
+		readers[i] = fileutil.NewFileBufReader(r[i])
 	}
 	return &decoder{
 		brs: readers,
@@ -59,17 +60,13 @@ func (d *decoder) decode(rec *walpb.Record) error {
 	return d.decodeRecord(rec)
 }
 
-// raft max message size is set to 1 MB in etcd server
-// assume projects set reasonable message size limit,
-// thus entry size should never exceed 10 MB
-const maxWALEntrySizeLimit = int64(10 * 1024 * 1024)
-
 func (d *decoder) decodeRecord(rec *walpb.Record) error {
 	if len(d.brs) == 0 {
 		return io.EOF
 	}
 
-	l, err := readInt64(d.brs[0])
+	fileBufReader := d.brs[0]
+	l, err := readInt64(fileBufReader)
 	if err == io.EOF || (err == nil && l == 0) {
 		// hit end of file or preallocated space
 		d.brs = d.brs[1:]
@@ -84,12 +81,15 @@ func (d *decoder) decodeRecord(rec *walpb.Record) error {
 	}
 
 	recBytes, padBytes := decodeFrameSize(l)
-	if recBytes >= maxWALEntrySizeLimit-padBytes {
-		return ErrMaxWALEntrySizeLimitExceeded
+	// The length of current WAL entry must be less than the remaining file size.
+	maxEntryLimit := fileBufReader.FileInfo().Size() - d.lastValidOff - padBytes
+	if recBytes > maxEntryLimit {
+		return fmt.Errorf("wal: max entry size limit exceeded, recBytes: %d, fileSize(%d) - offset(%d) - padBytes(%d) = entryLimit(%d)",
+			recBytes, fileBufReader.FileInfo().Size(), d.lastValidOff, padBytes, maxEntryLimit)
 	}
 
 	data := make([]byte, recBytes+padBytes)
-	if _, err = io.ReadFull(d.brs[0], data); err != nil {
+	if _, err = io.ReadFull(fileBufReader, data); err != nil {
 		// ReadFull returns io.EOF only if no bytes were read
 		// the decoder should treat this as an ErrUnexpectedEOF instead.
 		if err == io.EOF {
diff --git a/server/wal/record_test.go b/server/wal/record_test.go
index d28807ebb..49a2c8eac 100644
--- a/server/wal/record_test.go
+++ b/server/wal/record_test.go
@@ -19,10 +19,11 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"hash/crc32"
 	"io"
-	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 
+	"go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3/fileutil"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3/wal/walpb"
 )
 
@@ -43,8 +44,7 @@ func TestReadRecord(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{infoRecord, &walpb.Record{Type: 1, Crc: crc32.Checksum(infoData, crcTable), Data: infoData}, nil},
 		{[]byte(""), &walpb.Record{}, io.EOF},
-		{infoRecord[:8], &walpb.Record{}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF},
-		{infoRecord[:len(infoRecord)-len(infoData)-8], &walpb.Record{}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF},
+		{infoRecord[:14], &walpb.Record{}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF},
 		{infoRecord[:len(infoRecord)-len(infoData)], &walpb.Record{}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF},
 		{infoRecord[:len(infoRecord)-8], &walpb.Record{}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF},
 		{badInfoRecord, &walpb.Record{}, walpb.ErrCRCMismatch},
@@ -53,7 +53,11 @@ func TestReadRecord(t *testing.T) {
 	rec := &walpb.Record{}
 	for i, tt := range tests {
 		buf := bytes.NewBuffer(tt.data)
-		decoder := newDecoder(ioutil.NopCloser(buf))
+		f, err := createFileWithData(t, buf)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error: %v", err)
+		}
+		decoder := newDecoder(fileutil.NewFileReader(f))
 		e := decoder.decode(rec)
 		if !reflect.DeepEqual(rec, tt.wr) {
 			t.Errorf("#%d: block = %v, want %v", i, rec, tt.wr)
@@ -73,8 +77,12 @@ func TestWriteRecord(t *testing.T) {
 	e := newEncoder(buf, 0, 0)
 	e.encode(&walpb.Record{Type: typ, Data: d})
 	e.flush()
-	decoder := newDecoder(ioutil.NopCloser(buf))
-	err := decoder.decode(b)
+	f, err := createFileWithData(t, buf)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	decoder := newDecoder(fileutil.NewFileReader(f))
+	err = decoder.decode(b)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("err = %v, want nil", err)
 	}
@@ -85,3 +93,15 @@ func TestWriteRecord(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("data = %v, want %v", b.Data, d)
 	}
 }
+
+func createFileWithData(t *testing.T, bf *bytes.Buffer) (*os.File, error) {
+	f, err := os.CreateTemp(t.TempDir(), "wal")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if _, err := f.Write(bf.Bytes()); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	f.Seek(0, 0)
+	return f, nil
+}
diff --git a/server/wal/repair.go b/server/wal/repair.go
index 122ee49a6..0ed842546 100644
--- a/server/wal/repair.go
+++ b/server/wal/repair.go
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ func Repair(lg *zap.Logger, dirpath string) bool {
 	lg.Info("repairing", zap.String("path", f.Name()))
 
 	rec := &walpb.Record{}
-	decoder := newDecoder(f)
+	decoder := newDecoder(fileutil.NewFileReader(f.File))
 	for {
 		lastOffset := decoder.lastOffset()
 		err := decoder.decode(rec)
diff --git a/server/wal/wal.go b/server/wal/wal.go
index 3c940e0cd..0d652220e 100644
--- a/server/wal/wal.go
+++ b/server/wal/wal.go
@@ -54,15 +54,14 @@ var (
 	// so that tests can set a different segment size.
 	SegmentSizeBytes int64 = 64 * 1000 * 1000 // 64MB
 
-	ErrMetadataConflict             = errors.New("wal: conflicting metadata found")
-	ErrFileNotFound                 = errors.New("wal: file not found")
-	ErrCRCMismatch                  = errors.New("wal: crc mismatch")
-	ErrSnapshotMismatch             = errors.New("wal: snapshot mismatch")
-	ErrSnapshotNotFound             = errors.New("wal: snapshot not found")
-	ErrSliceOutOfRange              = errors.New("wal: slice bounds out of range")
-	ErrMaxWALEntrySizeLimitExceeded = errors.New("wal: max entry size limit exceeded")
-	ErrDecoderNotFound              = errors.New("wal: decoder not found")
-	crcTable                        = crc32.MakeTable(crc32.Castagnoli)
+	ErrMetadataConflict = errors.New("wal: conflicting metadata found")
+	ErrFileNotFound     = errors.New("wal: file not found")
+	ErrCRCMismatch      = errors.New("wal: crc mismatch")
+	ErrSnapshotMismatch = errors.New("wal: snapshot mismatch")
+	ErrSnapshotNotFound = errors.New("wal: snapshot not found")
+	ErrSliceOutOfRange  = errors.New("wal: slice bounds out of range")
+	ErrDecoderNotFound  = errors.New("wal: decoder not found")
+	crcTable            = crc32.MakeTable(crc32.Castagnoli)
 )
 
 // WAL is a logical representation of the stable storage.
@@ -378,12 +377,13 @@ func selectWALFiles(lg *zap.Logger, dirpath string, snap walpb.Snapshot) ([]stri
 	return names, nameIndex, nil
 }
 
-func openWALFiles(lg *zap.Logger, dirpath string, names []string, nameIndex int, write bool) ([]io.Reader, []*fileutil.LockedFile, func() error, error) {
+func openWALFiles(lg *zap.Logger, dirpath string, names []string, nameIndex int, write bool) ([]fileutil.FileReader, []*fileutil.LockedFile, func() error, error) {
 	rcs := make([]io.ReadCloser, 0)
-	rs := make([]io.Reader, 0)
+	rs := make([]fileutil.FileReader, 0)
 	ls := make([]*fileutil.LockedFile, 0)
 	for _, name := range names[nameIndex:] {
 		p := filepath.Join(dirpath, name)
+		var f *os.File
 		if write {
 			l, err := fileutil.TryLockFile(p, os.O_RDWR, fileutil.PrivateFileMode)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -392,6 +392,7 @@ func openWALFiles(lg *zap.Logger, dirpath string, names []string, nameIndex int,
 			}
 			ls = append(ls, l)
 			rcs = append(rcs, l)
+			f = l.File
 		} else {
 			rf, err := os.OpenFile(p, os.O_RDONLY, fileutil.PrivateFileMode)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -400,8 +401,10 @@ func openWALFiles(lg *zap.Logger, dirpath string, names []string, nameIndex int,
 			}
 			ls = append(ls, nil)
 			rcs = append(rcs, rf)
+			f = rf
 		}
-		rs = append(rs, rcs[len(rcs)-1])
+		fileReader := fileutil.NewFileReader(f)
+		rs = append(rs, fileReader)
 	}
 
 	closer := func() error { return closeAll(lg, rcs...) }
diff --git a/server/wal/wal_test.go b/server/wal/wal_test.go
index 05014086c..e3b829cff 100644
--- a/server/wal/wal_test.go
+++ b/server/wal/wal_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"math"
+	"math/rand"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -335,7 +336,7 @@ func TestCut(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	defer f.Close()
 	nw := &WAL{
-		decoder: newDecoder(f),
+		decoder: newDecoder(fileutil.NewFileReader(f)),
 		start:   snap,
 	}
 	_, gst, _, err := nw.ReadAll()
@@ -411,51 +412,76 @@ func TestSaveWithCut(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRecover(t *testing.T) {
-	p, err := ioutil.TempDir(t.TempDir(), "waltest")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(p)
-
-	w, err := Create(zap.NewExample(), p, []byte("metadata"))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if err = w.SaveSnapshot(walpb.Snapshot{}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	ents := []raftpb.Entry{{Index: 1, Term: 1, Data: []byte{1}}, {Index: 2, Term: 2, Data: []byte{2}}}
-	if err = w.Save(raftpb.HardState{}, ents); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	sts := []raftpb.HardState{{Term: 1, Vote: 1, Commit: 1}, {Term: 2, Vote: 2, Commit: 2}}
-	for _, s := range sts {
-		if err = w.Save(s, nil); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}
-	w.Close()
-
-	if w, err = Open(zap.NewExample(), p, walpb.Snapshot{}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	metadata, state, entries, err := w.ReadAll()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		size int
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "10MB",
+			size: 10 * 1024 * 1024,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "20MB",
+			size: 20 * 1024 * 1024,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "40MB",
+			size: 40 * 1024 * 1024,
+		},
 	}
 
-	if !bytes.Equal(metadata, []byte("metadata")) {
-		t.Errorf("metadata = %s, want %s", metadata, "metadata")
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			p := t.TempDir()
+
+			w, err := Create(zap.NewExample(), p, []byte("metadata"))
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if err = w.SaveSnapshot(walpb.Snapshot{}); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			data := make([]byte, tc.size)
+			n, err := rand.Read(data)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.size, n)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected error: %v", err)
+			}
+			ents := []raftpb.Entry{{Index: 1, Term: 1, Data: data}, {Index: 2, Term: 2, Data: data}}
+			if err = w.Save(raftpb.HardState{}, ents); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			sts := []raftpb.HardState{{Term: 1, Vote: 1, Commit: 1}, {Term: 2, Vote: 2, Commit: 2}}
+			for _, s := range sts {
+				if err = w.Save(s, nil); err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+			}
+			w.Close()
+
+			if w, err = Open(zap.NewExample(), p, walpb.Snapshot{}); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			metadata, state, entries, err := w.ReadAll()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			if !bytes.Equal(metadata, []byte("metadata")) {
+				t.Errorf("metadata = %s, want %s", metadata, "metadata")
+			}
+			if !reflect.DeepEqual(entries, ents) {
+				t.Errorf("ents = %+v, want %+v", entries, ents)
+			}
+			// only the latest state is recorded
+			s := sts[len(sts)-1]
+			if !reflect.DeepEqual(state, s) {
+				t.Errorf("state = %+v, want %+v", state, s)
+			}
+			w.Close()
+		})
 	}
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(entries, ents) {
-		t.Errorf("ents = %+v, want %+v", entries, ents)
-	}
-	// only the latest state is recorded
-	s := sts[len(sts)-1]
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(state, s) {
-		t.Errorf("state = %+v, want %+v", state, s)
-	}
-	w.Close()
 }
 
 func TestSearchIndex(t *testing.T) {