diff --git a/drivers/gpu/msm/kgsl_timeline.c b/drivers/gpu/msm/kgsl_timeline.c
index fe01f29250dc..4249718c2d7f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/msm/kgsl_timeline.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/msm/kgsl_timeline.c
@@ -299,6 +299,10 @@ struct dma_fence *kgsl_timeline_fence_alloc(struct kgsl_timeline *timeline,
 		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
 
 	fence->timeline = kgsl_timeline_get(timeline);
+	if (!fence->timeline) {
+		kfree(fence);
+		return ERR_PTR(-ENOENT);
+	}
 
 	dma_fence_init(&fence->base, &timeline_fence_ops,
 		&timeline->lock, timeline->context, seqno);