diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/msm/msm_gem_submit.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/msm/msm_gem_submit.c
index aa341e83627b83..282628d6b72c09 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/msm/msm_gem_submit.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/msm/msm_gem_submit.c
@@ -772,6 +772,7 @@ int msm_ioctl_gem_submit(struct drm_device *dev, void *data,
 		args->nr_cmds);
 	if (IS_ERR(submit)) {
 		ret = PTR_ERR(submit);
+		submit = NULL;
 		goto out_unlock;
 	}