diff --git a/net/ipv4/igmp.c b/net/ipv4/igmp.c
index 88211a4b3855..c0f922c32a53 100644
--- a/net/ipv4/igmp.c
+++ b/net/ipv4/igmp.c
@@ -218,8 +218,10 @@ static void igmp_start_timer(struct ip_mc_list *im, int max_delay)
 	int tv = prandom_u32() % max_delay;
 
 	im->tm_running = 1;
-	if (!mod_timer(&im->timer, jiffies+tv+2))
-		refcount_inc(&im->refcnt);
+	if (refcount_inc_not_zero(&im->refcnt)) {
+		if (mod_timer(&im->timer, jiffies + tv + 2))
+			ip_ma_put(im);
+	}
 }
 
 static void igmp_gq_start_timer(struct in_device *in_dev)