diff --git a/drivers/vfio/mdev/mdev_core.c b/drivers/vfio/mdev/mdev_core.c
index 1506647573c037e474bca48ea9699b5f9c5e352e..e052f62fdea7e8151cf4fd2b3d650805161da341 100644
--- a/drivers/vfio/mdev/mdev_core.c
+++ b/drivers/vfio/mdev/mdev_core.c
@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@ int mdev_register_device(struct device *dev, const struct mdev_parent_ops *ops)
 	/* Check for duplicate */
 	parent = __find_parent_device(dev);
 	if (parent) {
+		parent = NULL;
 		ret = -EEXIST;
 		goto add_dev_err;
 	}