diff --git a/io_uring/openclose.c b/io_uring/openclose.c
index bfeb91b31bba..15dde9bd6ff6 100644
--- a/io_uring/openclose.c
+++ b/io_uring/openclose.c
@@ -73,13 +73,13 @@ static int __io_openat_prep(struct io_kiocb *req, const struct io_uring_sqe *sqe
 		open->filename = NULL;
 		return ret;
 	}
+	req->flags |= REQ_F_NEED_CLEANUP;
 
 	open->file_slot = READ_ONCE(sqe->file_index);
 	if (open->file_slot && (open->how.flags & O_CLOEXEC))
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	open->nofile = rlimit(RLIMIT_NOFILE);
-	req->flags |= REQ_F_NEED_CLEANUP;
 	if (io_openat_force_async(open))
 		req->flags |= REQ_F_FORCE_ASYNC;
 	return 0;