diff --git a/fs/ceph/dir.c b/fs/ceph/dir.c
index 099a586..ebafa65 100644
--- a/fs/ceph/dir.c
+++ b/fs/ceph/dir.c
@@ -993,7 +993,7 @@
 {
 	struct inode *dir;
 
-	if (nd->flags & LOOKUP_RCU)
+	if (nd && nd->flags & LOOKUP_RCU)
 		return -ECHILD;
 
 	dir = dentry->d_parent->d_inode;