diff --git a/mm/memfd.c b/mm/memfd.c
index fae4142f7d25..278e5636623e 100644
--- a/mm/memfd.c
+++ b/mm/memfd.c
@@ -330,7 +330,8 @@ SYSCALL_DEFINE2(memfd_create,
 
 	if (flags & MFD_ALLOW_SEALING) {
 		file_seals = memfd_file_seals_ptr(file);
-		*file_seals &= ~F_SEAL_SEAL;
+		if (file_seals)
+			*file_seals &= ~F_SEAL_SEAL;
 	}
 
 	fd_install(fd, file);