diff --git a/src/share/vm/runtime/thread.cpp b/src/share/vm/runtime/thread.cpp
index f82945b791358f6c74c03c3ad57f49dfd69f860d..afb7e805eb55094d95de5fddd8d267c6473667ea 100644
--- a/src/share/vm/runtime/thread.cpp
+++ b/src/share/vm/runtime/thread.cpp
@@ -940,7 +940,7 @@ void Thread::check_for_valid_safepoint_state(bool potential_vm_operation) {
               cur != VMOperationRequest_lock &&
               cur != VMOperationQueue_lock) ||
               cur->rank() == Mutex::special) {
-          warning("Thread holding lock at safepoint that vm can block on: %s", cur->name());
+          fatal(err_msg("Thread holding lock at safepoint that vm can block on: %s", cur->name()));
         }
       }
     }