diff --git a/net/ipv4/fib_trie.c b/net/ipv4/fib_trie.c
index 59a838795e3e..c98f115fb0fd 100644
--- a/net/ipv4/fib_trie.c
+++ b/net/ipv4/fib_trie.c
@@ -209,7 +209,9 @@ static inline struct node *tnode_get_child_rcu(struct tnode *tn, unsigned int i)
 {
 	struct node *ret = tnode_get_child(tn, i);
 
-	return rcu_dereference(ret);
+	return rcu_dereference_check(ret,
+				     rcu_read_lock_held() ||
+				     lockdep_rtnl_is_held());
 }
 
 static inline int tnode_child_length(const struct tnode *tn)