diff --git a/net/can/af_can.c b/net/can/af_can.c
index 5e9e3e1e9825f..27dcdcc0b8089 100644
--- a/net/can/af_can.c
+++ b/net/can/af_can.c
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ int can_rx_register(struct net *net, struct net_device *dev, canid_t can_id,
 
 	/* insert new receiver  (dev,canid,mask) -> (func,data) */
 
-	if (dev && dev->type != ARPHRD_CAN)
+	if (dev && (dev->type != ARPHRD_CAN || !can_get_ml_priv(dev)))
 		return -ENODEV;
 
 	if (dev && !net_eq(net, dev_net(dev)))