diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/qualcomm/rmnet/rmnet_config.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/qualcomm/rmnet/rmnet_config.c
index 5f4e447c5dce2..b8bbee645f517 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/qualcomm/rmnet/rmnet_config.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/qualcomm/rmnet/rmnet_config.c
@@ -301,10 +301,13 @@ static int rmnet_changelink(struct net_device *dev, struct nlattr *tb[],
 	struct rmnet_port *port;
 	u16 mux_id;
 
+	if (!dev)
+		return -ENODEV;
+
 	real_dev = __dev_get_by_index(dev_net(dev),
 				      nla_get_u32(tb[IFLA_LINK]));
 
-	if (!real_dev || !dev || !rmnet_is_real_dev_registered(real_dev))
+	if (!real_dev || !rmnet_is_real_dev_registered(real_dev))
 		return -ENODEV;
 
 	port = rmnet_get_port_rtnl(real_dev);