diff --git a/kernel/rcu/tree.c b/kernel/rcu/tree.c
index 40940b0d03109..87b604d0b0d22 100644
--- a/kernel/rcu/tree.c
+++ b/kernel/rcu/tree.c
@@ -4319,8 +4319,8 @@ static int __init rcu_spawn_gp_kthread(void)
 			sp.sched_priority = kthread_prio;
 			sched_setscheduler_nocheck(t, SCHED_FIFO, &sp);
 		}
-		wake_up_process(t);
 		raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore(&rnp->lock, flags);
+		wake_up_process(t);
 	}
 	rcu_spawn_nocb_kthreads();
 	rcu_spawn_boost_kthreads();