diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/cavium/liquidio/octeon_device.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/cavium/liquidio/octeon_device.c
index 3cc56675359aeb9065a8b361b017c24f6dfc07ce..b5be7074f3dedfdb95a8ae4388bd41898522d733 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/cavium/liquidio/octeon_device.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/cavium/liquidio/octeon_device.c
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@ static atomic_t adapter_refcounts[MAX_OCTEON_DEVICES];
 
 static u32 octeon_device_count;
 /* locks device array (i.e. octeon_device[]) */
-spinlock_t octeon_devices_lock;
+static spinlock_t octeon_devices_lock;
 
 static struct octeon_core_setup core_setup[MAX_OCTEON_DEVICES];