diff --git a/include/net/addrconf.h b/include/net/addrconf.h
index 8ced27a8229b..e6764245995f 100644
--- a/include/net/addrconf.h
+++ b/include/net/addrconf.h
@@ -405,8 +405,8 @@ static inline struct inet6_dev *in6_dev_get(const struct net_device *dev)
 
 	rcu_read_lock();
 	idev = rcu_dereference(dev->ip6_ptr);
-	if (idev)
-		refcount_inc(&idev->refcnt);
+	if (idev && !refcount_inc_not_zero(&idev->refcnt))
+		idev = NULL;
 	rcu_read_unlock();
 	return idev;
 }