diff --git a/fs/dlm/user.c b/fs/dlm/user.c
index 322a6bcd70a20ceb2dc6027514b39736bc325693..d18e7a539f116209e3a7d0a972d7ca4a28522a09 100644
--- a/fs/dlm/user.c
+++ b/fs/dlm/user.c
@@ -357,6 +357,10 @@ static int dlm_device_register(struct dlm_ls *ls, char *name)
 	error = misc_register(&ls->ls_device);
 	if (error) {
 		kfree(ls->ls_device.name);
+		/* this has to be set to NULL
+		 * to avoid a double-free in dlm_device_deregister
+		 */
+		ls->ls_device.name = NULL;
 	}
 fail:
 	return error;