diff --git a/kernel/pid.c b/kernel/pid.c
index 6500ef956f2f..e57adc00cb77 100644
--- a/kernel/pid.c
+++ b/kernel/pid.c
@@ -477,7 +477,7 @@ pid_t pid_nr_ns(struct pid *pid, struct pid_namespace *ns)
 	struct upid *upid;
 	pid_t nr = 0;
 
-	if (pid && ns->level <= pid->level) {
+	if (pid && ns && ns->level <= pid->level) {
 		upid = &pid->numbers[ns->level];
 		if (upid->ns == ns)
 			nr = upid->nr;