diff --git a/kernel/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup.c
index 48348dde6d81..891a84eb9d30 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup.c
@@ -2945,7 +2945,11 @@ int cgroup_clone(struct task_struct *tsk, struct cgroup_subsys *subsys,
 	parent = task_cgroup(tsk, subsys->subsys_id);
 
 	/* Pin the hierarchy */
-	atomic_inc(&parent->root->sb->s_active);
+	if (!atomic_inc_not_zero(&parent->root->sb->s_active)) {
+		/* We race with the final deactivate_super() */
+		mutex_unlock(&cgroup_mutex);
+		return 0;
+	}
 
 	/* Keep the cgroup alive */
 	get_css_set(cg);