diff --git a/kernel/events/core.c b/kernel/events/core.c
index 7f0d67ea3f48..7e0962ed7f8a 100644
--- a/kernel/events/core.c
+++ b/kernel/events/core.c
@@ -5987,6 +5987,7 @@ int perf_pmu_register(struct pmu *pmu, char *name, int type)
 	if (pmu->pmu_cpu_context)
 		goto got_cpu_context;
 
+	ret = -ENOMEM;
 	pmu->pmu_cpu_context = alloc_percpu(struct perf_cpu_context);
 	if (!pmu->pmu_cpu_context)
 		goto free_dev;