diff --git a/drivers/nfc/virtual_ncidev.c b/drivers/nfc/virtual_ncidev.c
index bb76c7c7c..673e85df5 100644
--- a/drivers/nfc/virtual_ncidev.c
+++ b/drivers/nfc/virtual_ncidev.c
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ static ssize_t virtual_ncidev_read(struct file *file, char __user *buf,
 	}
 
 	skb_pull(vdev->send_buff, actual_len);
-	if (vdev->send_buff->len == 0) {
+	if (vdev->send_buff->len == 0 && skb_unref(vdev->send_buff)) {
 		consume_skb(vdev->send_buff);
 		vdev->send_buff = NULL;
 	}