diff --git a/mm/page_alloc.c b/mm/page_alloc.c
index 0303a3b24610..e1517bb143dc 100644
--- a/mm/page_alloc.c
+++ b/mm/page_alloc.c
@@ -4404,19 +4404,15 @@ __alloc_pages_nodemask(gfp_t gfp_mask, unsigned int order, int preferred_nid,
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(__alloc_pages_nodemask);
 
 /*
- * Common helper functions.
+ * Common helper functions. Never use with __GFP_HIGHMEM because the returned
+ * address cannot represent highmem pages. Use alloc_pages and then kmap if
+ * you need to access high mem.
  */
 unsigned long __get_free_pages(gfp_t gfp_mask, unsigned int order)
 {
 	struct page *page;
 
-	/*
-	 * __get_free_pages() returns a virtual address, which cannot represent
-	 * a highmem page
-	 */
-	VM_BUG_ON((gfp_mask & __GFP_HIGHMEM) != 0);
-
-	page = alloc_pages(gfp_mask, order);
+	page = alloc_pages(gfp_mask & ~__GFP_HIGHMEM, order);
 	if (!page)
 		return 0;
 	return (unsigned long) page_address(page);