diff --git a/arch/arm/kernel/perf_event_cpu.c b/arch/arm/kernel/perf_event_cpu.c
index aebe0e99c153e..8d6147b2001f8 100644
--- a/arch/arm/kernel/perf_event_cpu.c
+++ b/arch/arm/kernel/perf_event_cpu.c
@@ -118,7 +118,8 @@ static int cpu_pmu_request_irq(struct arm_pmu *cpu_pmu, irq_handler_t handler)
 			continue;
 		}
 
-		err = request_irq(irq, handler, IRQF_NOBALANCING, "arm-pmu",
+		err = request_irq(irq, handler,
+				  IRQF_NOBALANCING | IRQF_NO_THREAD, "arm-pmu",
 				  cpu_pmu);
 		if (err) {
 			pr_err("unable to request IRQ%d for ARM PMU counters\n",