diff --git a/io_uring/sqpoll.c b/io_uring/sqpoll.c
index 1cfcc735b8e3..5bc54c6df20f 100644
--- a/io_uring/sqpoll.c
+++ b/io_uring/sqpoll.c
@@ -275,8 +275,12 @@ static int io_sq_thread(void *data)
 	DEFINE_WAIT(wait);
 
 	/* offload context creation failed, just exit */
-	if (!current->io_uring)
+	if (!current->io_uring) {
+		mutex_lock(&sqd->lock);
+		sqd->thread = NULL;
+		mutex_unlock(&sqd->lock);
 		goto err_out;
+	}
 
 	snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "iou-sqp-%d", sqd->task_pid);
 	set_task_comm(current, buf);