diff --git a/net/core/rtnetlink.c b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
index cb15338cfda4d..0168c700a2014 100644
--- a/net/core/rtnetlink.c
+++ b/net/core/rtnetlink.c
@@ -2733,7 +2733,8 @@ static int rtnl_newlink(struct sk_buff *skb, struct nlmsghdr *nlh,
 			 */
 			if (err < 0) {
 				/* If device is not registered at all, free it now */
-				if (dev->reg_state == NETREG_UNINITIALIZED)
+				if (dev->reg_state == NETREG_UNINITIALIZED ||
+				    dev->reg_state == NETREG_UNREGISTERED)
 					free_netdev(dev);
 				goto out;
 			}