diff --git a/drivers/md/dm-rq.c b/drivers/md/dm-rq.c
index 5eacce1..63e43f2 100644
--- a/drivers/md/dm-rq.c
+++ b/drivers/md/dm-rq.c
@@ -856,8 +856,11 @@
 	init_kthread_worker(&md->kworker);
 	md->kworker_task = kthread_run(kthread_worker_fn, &md->kworker,
 				       "kdmwork-%s", dm_device_name(md));
-	if (IS_ERR(md->kworker_task))
-		return PTR_ERR(md->kworker_task);
+	if (IS_ERR(md->kworker_task)) {
+		int error = PTR_ERR(md->kworker_task);
+		md->kworker_task = NULL;
+		return error;
+	}
 
 	elv_register_queue(md->queue);