diff --git a/net/core/dev.c b/net/core/dev.c
index c1a4de2755761..a63b8c43c1b6b 100644
--- a/net/core/dev.c
+++ b/net/core/dev.c
@@ -2645,7 +2645,8 @@ struct sk_buff *dev_hard_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *first, struct net_device *de
 	return skb;
 }
 
-struct sk_buff *validate_xmit_vlan(struct sk_buff *skb, netdev_features_t features)
+static struct sk_buff *validate_xmit_vlan(struct sk_buff *skb,
+					  netdev_features_t features)
 {
 	if (vlan_tx_tag_present(skb) &&
 	    !vlan_hw_offload_capable(features, skb->vlan_proto)) {