diff --git a/fs/xattr.c b/fs/xattr.c
index b11945e15fde2b62d59c5c81c5aead48fb0e5d83..4231488f2122e9dc33f4059071a13ebca152ea99 100644
--- a/fs/xattr.c
+++ b/fs/xattr.c
@@ -668,7 +668,7 @@ xattr_resolve_name(const struct xattr_handler **handlers, const char **name)
 	const struct xattr_handler *handler;
 
 	if (!*name)
-		return NULL;
+		return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
 
 	for_each_xattr_handler(handlers, handler) {
 		const char *n;