diff --git a/compat/nedmalloc/malloc.c.h b/compat/nedmalloc/malloc.c.h
index b833ff9225..88c131ca93 100644
--- a/compat/nedmalloc/malloc.c.h
+++ b/compat/nedmalloc/malloc.c.h
@@ -1755,10 +1755,10 @@ static FORCEINLINE void pthread_release_lock (MLOCK_T *sl) {
   assert(sl->l != 0);
   assert(sl->threadid == CURRENT_THREAD);
   if (--sl->c == 0) {
-    sl->threadid = 0;
     volatile unsigned int* lp = &sl->l;
     int prev = 0;
     int ret;
+    sl->threadid = 0;
     __asm__ __volatile__ ("lock; xchgl %0, %1"
 			  : "=r" (ret)
 			  : "m" (*(lp)), "0"(prev)