diff --git a/net/core/net_namespace.c b/net/core/net_namespace.c
index b96df54d00365..534a53124d14c 100644
--- a/net/core/net_namespace.c
+++ b/net/core/net_namespace.c
@@ -140,12 +140,12 @@ static int ops_init(const struct pernet_operations *ops, struct net *net)
 		return 0;
 
 	if (ops->id && ops->size) {
-cleanup:
 		ng = rcu_dereference_protected(net->gen,
 					       lockdep_is_held(&pernet_ops_rwsem));
 		ng->ptr[*ops->id] = NULL;
 	}
 
+cleanup:
 	kfree(data);
 
 out: