diff --git a/kernel/rcu/tree.c b/kernel/rcu/tree.c
index 9d7464a90f85..c879ed0c5507 100644
--- a/kernel/rcu/tree.c
+++ b/kernel/rcu/tree.c
@@ -4471,6 +4471,7 @@ static void __init rcu_start_exp_gp_kworkers(void)
 	rcu_exp_par_gp_kworker = kthread_create_worker(0, par_gp_kworker_name);
 	if (IS_ERR_OR_NULL(rcu_exp_par_gp_kworker)) {
 		pr_err("Failed to create %s!\n", par_gp_kworker_name);
+		rcu_exp_par_gp_kworker = NULL;
 		kthread_destroy_worker(rcu_exp_gp_kworker);
 		return;
 	}