diff --git a/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c b/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c
index 28b241cd6987..b4465ede33d3 100644
--- a/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c
+++ b/fs/reiserfs/xattr.c
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ static struct dentry *open_xa_root(struct super_block *sb, int flags)
 	struct dentry *privroot = REISERFS_SB(sb)->priv_root;
 	struct dentry *xaroot;
 
-	if (d_really_is_negative(privroot))
+	if (!privroot || d_really_is_negative(privroot))
 		return ERR_PTR(-EOPNOTSUPP);
 
 	inode_lock_nested(d_inode(privroot), I_MUTEX_XATTR);