diff --git a/net/core/netpoll.c b/net/core/netpoll.c
index fd2195cfcb4a..681eeb2b7399 100644
--- a/net/core/netpoll.c
+++ b/net/core/netpoll.c
@@ -636,7 +636,7 @@ int __netpoll_setup(struct netpoll *np, struct net_device *ndev)
 		goto out;
 	}
 
-	if (!ndev->npinfo) {
+	if (!rcu_access_pointer(ndev->npinfo)) {
 		npinfo = kmalloc(sizeof(*npinfo), GFP_KERNEL);
 		if (!npinfo) {
 			err = -ENOMEM;