diff --git a/kernel/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup.c
index fea11c5..f2a3f5c 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup.c
@@ -915,10 +915,11 @@
 	}
 
 	ret = rebind_subsystems(root, opts.subsys_bits);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out_unlock;
 
 	/* (re)populate subsystem files */
-	if (!ret)
-		cgroup_populate_dir(cgrp);
+	cgroup_populate_dir(cgrp);
 
 	if (opts.release_agent)
 		strcpy(root->release_agent_path, opts.release_agent);