diff --git a/arch/arm/kernel/process.c b/arch/arm/kernel/process.c
index dc7eda3b4ee4..618117c8e063 100644
--- a/arch/arm/kernel/process.c
+++ b/arch/arm/kernel/process.c
@@ -227,6 +227,16 @@ void arch_cpu_idle(void)
  */
 void machine_shutdown(void)
 {
+#ifdef CONFIG_SMP
+	/*
+	 * Disable preemption so we're guaranteed to
+	 * run to power off or reboot and prevent
+	 * the possibility of switching to another
+	 * thread that might wind up blocking on
+	 * one of the stopped CPUs.
+	 */
+	preempt_disable();
+#endif
 	disable_nonboot_cpus();
 }