diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/radeon/radeon_ring.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/radeon/radeon_ring.c
index 2430d80b18716b6cd8c338c6fff86c53354992ac..cd72062d5a9134bd596c8a6388b78fd45bb02425 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/radeon/radeon_ring.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/radeon/radeon_ring.c
@@ -377,6 +377,9 @@ int radeon_ring_alloc(struct radeon_device *rdev, struct radeon_ring *ring, unsi
 {
 	int r;
 
+	/* make sure we aren't trying to allocate more space than there is on the ring */
+	if (ndw > (ring->ring_size / 4))
+		return -ENOMEM;
 	/* Align requested size with padding so unlock_commit can
 	 * pad safely */
 	ndw = (ndw + ring->align_mask) & ~ring->align_mask;