diff --git a/qdf/linux/src/qdf_mem.c b/qdf/linux/src/qdf_mem.c
index 9d02ae0e35a9..0a84fed99d19 100644
--- a/qdf/linux/src/qdf_mem.c
+++ b/qdf/linux/src/qdf_mem.c
@@ -1086,7 +1086,7 @@ void *qdf_mem_malloc(size_t size)
 {
 	int flags = GFP_KERNEL;
 
-	if (in_interrupt() || irqs_disabled())
+	if (in_interrupt() || irqs_disabled() || in_atomic())
 		flags = GFP_ATOMIC;
 
 	return kzalloc(size, flags);