diff --git a/fs/kernfs/inode.c b/fs/kernfs/inode.c
index 9d4fab4..b4cae6f 100644
--- a/fs/kernfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/kernfs/inode.c
@@ -37,9 +37,10 @@
 	.setxattr	= sysfs_setxattr,
 };
 
-int __init sysfs_inode_init(void)
+void __init sysfs_inode_init(void)
 {
-	return bdi_init(&sysfs_backing_dev_info);
+	if (bdi_init(&sysfs_backing_dev_info))
+		panic("failed to init sysfs_backing_dev_info");
 }
 
 static struct sysfs_inode_attrs *sysfs_init_inode_attrs(struct sysfs_dirent *sd)