diff --git a/fs/nfs/namespace.c b/fs/nfs/namespace.c
index 66df08dd1cafbb41cdbb7864128b0920e0c8dbd3..d398775a3af57503aa3ecf6bbaa3db4d0cfd0ba7 100644
--- a/fs/nfs/namespace.c
+++ b/fs/nfs/namespace.c
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ static struct vfsmount *nfs_do_clone_mount(struct nfs_server *server,
 					   struct nfs_clone_mount *mountdata)
 {
 #ifdef CONFIG_NFS_V4
-	struct vfsmount *mnt = NULL;
+	struct vfsmount *mnt = ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
 	switch (server->nfs_client->rpc_ops->version) {
 		case 2:
 		case 3: