diff --git a/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c b/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
index 5b4632826dc6696f331de83b850151a41486adbb..9cc8e92f4b000acfb78753adb2a2c6503a577433 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c
@@ -532,7 +532,8 @@ static void nft_request_module(struct net *net, const char *fmt, ...)
 static void lockdep_nfnl_nft_mutex_not_held(void)
 {
 #ifdef CONFIG_PROVE_LOCKING
-	WARN_ON_ONCE(lockdep_nfnl_is_held(NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES));
+	if (debug_locks)
+		WARN_ON_ONCE(lockdep_nfnl_is_held(NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES));
 #endif
 }