diff --git a/drivers/net/vrf.c b/drivers/net/vrf.c
index 4d8ccaf9a2b4..4087f72f0d2b 100644
--- a/drivers/net/vrf.c
+++ b/drivers/net/vrf.c
@@ -608,7 +608,9 @@ static void vrf_finish_direct(struct sk_buff *skb)
 		eth_zero_addr(eth->h_dest);
 		eth->h_proto = skb->protocol;
 
+		rcu_read_lock_bh();
 		dev_queue_xmit_nit(skb, vrf_dev);
+		rcu_read_unlock_bh();
 
 		skb_pull(skb, ETH_HLEN);
 	}