diff --git a/net/caif/caif_dev.c b/net/caif/caif_dev.c
index 7c2fa0a0814848c399c64aa9f44fc4fa119fa28b..7f9ac0742d19cc71fa367ea83bd8a9a117adbd1d 100644
--- a/net/caif/caif_dev.c
+++ b/net/caif/caif_dev.c
@@ -93,10 +93,14 @@ static struct caif_device_entry *caif_device_alloc(struct net_device *dev)
 	caifdevs = caif_device_list(dev_net(dev));
 	BUG_ON(!caifdevs);
 
-	caifd = kzalloc(sizeof(*caifd), GFP_ATOMIC);
+	caifd = kzalloc(sizeof(*caifd), GFP_KERNEL);
 	if (!caifd)
 		return NULL;
 	caifd->pcpu_refcnt = alloc_percpu(int);
+	if (!caifd->pcpu_refcnt) {
+		kfree(caifd);
+		return NULL;
+	}
 	caifd->netdev = dev;
 	dev_hold(dev);
 	return caifd;