diff --git a/fs/nfsd/vfs.c b/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
index d9b298cbfe5c2..81325ba8660ae 100644
--- a/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
+++ b/fs/nfsd/vfs.c
@@ -508,6 +508,9 @@ set_nfsv4_acl_one(struct dentry *dentry, struct posix_acl *pacl, char *key)
 	char *buf = NULL;
 	int error = 0;
 
+	if (!pacl)
+		return vfs_setxattr(dentry, key, NULL, 0, 0);
+
 	buflen = posix_acl_xattr_size(pacl->a_count);
 	buf = kmalloc(buflen, GFP_KERNEL);
 	error = -ENOMEM;