diff --git a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_msghandler.c b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_msghandler.c
index 421f86104593936fca898a5ce53d0ab430caf913..1dc10740fc0f7ca12ca7f0184c3993960de5f4de 100644
--- a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_msghandler.c
+++ b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_msghandler.c
@@ -5179,7 +5179,7 @@ static void __exit cleanup_ipmi(void)
 		 * avoids problems with race conditions removing the timer
 		 * here.
 		 */
-		atomic_inc(&stop_operation);
+		atomic_set(&stop_operation, 1);
 		del_timer_sync(&ipmi_timer);
 
 		initialized = false;