diff --git a/net/core/dev.c b/net/core/dev.c
index 0918aadc20fd..bdffd654edc4 100644
--- a/net/core/dev.c
+++ b/net/core/dev.c
@@ -4648,6 +4648,7 @@ static int __netdev_adjacent_dev_insert(struct net_device *dev,
 
 free_adj:
 	kfree(adj);
+	dev_put(adj_dev);
 
 	return ret;
 }