diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c b/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c
index 28b241cd6987..facdc71b8d5a 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c
@@ -995,6 +995,9 @@ int reiserfs_xattr_init(struct super_block *s, int mount_flags)
 	int err = 0;
 	struct dentry *privroot = REISERFS_SB(s)->priv_root;
 
+	if(!privroot)
+		return 0;
+
 	err = xattr_mount_check(s);
 	if (err)
 		goto error;