diff --git a/drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.c b/drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.c
index 1bbfdeab4d62..c880c95c41a5 100644
--- a/drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.c
+++ b/drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.c
@@ -710,6 +710,13 @@ static netdev_tx_t rtl8150_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb,
 			netdev->stats.tx_errors++;
 			netif_start_queue(netdev);
 		}
+		/*
+		 * The URB was not submitted, so write_bulk_callback() will
+		 * never run to free dev->tx_skb.  Drop the skb here and
+		 * clear tx_skb to avoid leaving a stale pointer.
+		 */
+		dev->tx_skb = NULL;
+		dev_kfree_skb_any(skb);
 	} else {
 		netdev->stats.tx_packets++;
 		netdev->stats.tx_bytes += skb_len;