diff --git a/kernel/events/uprobes.c b/kernel/events/uprobes.c
index cca1fe4a3fb1b..2345aeb63d3b4 100644
--- a/kernel/events/uprobes.c
+++ b/kernel/events/uprobes.c
@@ -2116,12 +2116,12 @@ static void cleanup_return_instances(struct uprobe_task *utask, bool chained,
 
 	while (ri && !arch_uretprobe_is_alive(ri, ctx, regs)) {
 		ri_next = ri->next;
+		rcu_assign_pointer(utask->return_instances, ri_next);
 		utask->depth--;
 
 		free_ret_instance(ri, true /* cleanup_hprobe */);
 		ri = ri_next;
 	}
-	rcu_assign_pointer(utask->return_instances, ri);
 }
 
 static void prepare_uretprobe(struct uprobe *uprobe, struct pt_regs *regs,