diff --git a/net/ipv6/netfilter.c b/net/ipv6/netfilter.c
index 30fcee465448618b326f8cb9172deeadfc055e62..8992cf6651d47da90de5d3c76832672de50f547c 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/netfilter.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/netfilter.c
@@ -100,9 +100,16 @@ static int nf_ip6_route(struct net *net, struct dst_entry **dst,
 		.pinet6 = (struct ipv6_pinfo *) &fake_pinfo,
 	};
 	const void *sk = strict ? &fake_sk : NULL;
-
-	*dst = ip6_route_output(net, sk, &fl->u.ip6);
-	return (*dst)->error;
+	struct dst_entry *result;
+	int err;
+
+	result = ip6_route_output(net, sk, &fl->u.ip6);
+	err = result->error;
+	if (err)
+		dst_release(result);
+	else
+		*dst = result;
+	return err;
 }
 
 __sum16 nf_ip6_checksum(struct sk_buff *skb, unsigned int hook,