diff --git a/arch/powerpc/kernel/fadump.c b/arch/powerpc/kernel/fadump.c
index 7eb67201ea415..4fdb7c77fda1e 100644
--- a/arch/powerpc/kernel/fadump.c
+++ b/arch/powerpc/kernel/fadump.c
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ static int __init fadump_cma_init(void)
 		return 1;
 	}
 
+	/*
+	 *  If CMA activation fails, keep the pages reserved, instead of
+	 *  exposing them to buddy allocator. Same as 'fadump=nocma' case.
+	 */
+	cma_reserve_pages_on_error(fadump_cma);
+
 	/*
 	 * So we now have successfully initialized cma area for fadump.
 	 */