diff --git a/drivers/gpu/ion/ion.c b/drivers/gpu/ion/ion.c
index cde2d1c2dc59..9c0873701791 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/ion/ion.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/ion/ion.c
@@ -406,6 +406,7 @@ void ion_free(struct ion_client *client, struct ion_handle *handle)
 
 	if (!valid_handle) {
 		WARN(1, "%s: invalid handle passed to free.\n", __func__);
+		mutex_unlock(&client->lock);
 		return;
 	}
 	ion_handle_put(handle);