diff --git a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
index 6260d6549ee8b66ae41d404df6a9eda279e4dac2..326e2476153dacc296f71fee9da41820e5a14ef7 100644
--- a/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
+++ b/drivers/net/virtio_net.c
@@ -875,7 +875,7 @@ static struct sk_buff *receive_mergeable(struct net_device *dev,
 	rcu_read_unlock();
 err_skb:
 	put_page(page);
-	while (--num_buf) {
+	while (num_buf-- > 1) {
 		buf = virtqueue_get_buf(rq->vq, &len);
 		if (unlikely(!buf)) {
 			pr_debug("%s: rx error: %d buffers missing\n",