diff --git a/net/smc/af_smc.c b/net/smc/af_smc.c
index 185dbed7de5d..da28652f6810 100644
--- a/net/smc/af_smc.c
+++ b/net/smc/af_smc.c
@@ -3054,18 +3054,17 @@ static int __smc_setsockopt(struct socket *sock, int level, int optname,
 
 	smc = smc_sk(sk);
 
+	/* pre-fetch user data outside the lock */
+	if (optname == SMC_LIMIT_HS) {
+		if (optlen < sizeof(int))
+			return -EINVAL;
+		if (copy_from_sockptr(&val, optval, sizeof(int)))
+			return -EFAULT;
+	}
+
 	lock_sock(sk);
 	switch (optname) {
 	case SMC_LIMIT_HS:
-		if (optlen < sizeof(int)) {
-			rc = -EINVAL;
-			break;
-		}
-		if (copy_from_sockptr(&val, optval, sizeof(int))) {
-			rc = -EFAULT;
-			break;
-		}
-
 		smc->limit_smc_hs = !!val;
 		rc = 0;
 		break;