diff --git a/fs/namei.c b/fs/namei.c
index 208c6aa..a780ea5 100644
--- a/fs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/namei.c
@@ -1095,8 +1095,10 @@
 	struct dentry *old;
 
 	/* Don't create child dentry for a dead directory. */
-	if (unlikely(IS_DEADDIR(inode)))
+	if (unlikely(IS_DEADDIR(inode))) {
+		dput(dentry);
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOENT);
+	}
 
 	old = inode->i_op->lookup(inode, dentry, nd);
 	if (unlikely(old)) {