diff --git a/arch/mips/kernel/smp-cps.c b/arch/mips/kernel/smp-cps.c
index 44339b470ef44e598dc20acbfdfd840487503a31..a2544c2394e42331cceee8f0bbf5b538f36e24fb 100644
--- a/arch/mips/kernel/smp-cps.c
+++ b/arch/mips/kernel/smp-cps.c
@@ -326,7 +326,11 @@ static void cps_boot_secondary(int cpu, struct task_struct *idle)
 			if (cpu_online(remote))
 				break;
 		}
-		BUG_ON(remote >= NR_CPUS);
+		if (remote >= NR_CPUS) {
+			pr_crit("No online CPU in core %u to start CPU%d\n",
+				core, cpu);
+			goto out;
+		}
 
 		err = smp_call_function_single(remote, remote_vpe_boot,
 					       NULL, 1);