diff --git a/net/ipv4/tcp.c b/net/ipv4/tcp.c
index e7183cc8e998818885cb337fb37f557da2907c72..1270772cb1f38d0dc83e56bb5621d91ca11811e3 100644
--- a/net/ipv4/tcp.c
+++ b/net/ipv4/tcp.c
@@ -2494,7 +2494,8 @@ static void tcp_orphan_update(struct timer_list *unused)
 
 static bool tcp_too_many_orphans(int shift)
 {
-	return READ_ONCE(tcp_orphan_cache) << shift > sysctl_tcp_max_orphans;
+	return READ_ONCE(tcp_orphan_cache) << shift >
+		READ_ONCE(sysctl_tcp_max_orphans);
 }
 
 bool tcp_check_oom(struct sock *sk, int shift)