diff --git a/drivers/ata/libata-core.c b/drivers/ata/libata-core.c
index db1d86af21b4..d9b1c3e95592 100644
--- a/drivers/ata/libata-core.c
+++ b/drivers/ata/libata-core.c
@@ -6412,7 +6412,7 @@ int ata_host_start(struct ata_host *host)
 			have_stop = 1;
 	}
 
-	if (host->ops->host_stop)
+	if (host->ops && host->ops->host_stop)
 		have_stop = 1;
 
 	if (have_stop) {