diff --git a/include/linux/netpoll.h b/include/linux/netpoll.h
index bd19c4b91e31..3ddf205b7e2c 100644
--- a/include/linux/netpoll.h
+++ b/include/linux/netpoll.h
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ static inline void *netpoll_poll_lock(struct napi_struct *napi)
 {
 	struct net_device *dev = napi->dev;
 
-	if (dev && dev->npinfo) {
+	if (dev && rcu_access_pointer(dev->npinfo)) {
 		int owner = smp_processor_id();
 
 		while (cmpxchg(&napi->poll_owner, -1, owner) != -1)