diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/file.c b/fs/overlayfs/file.c
index 2b7a5a3a7a2f..67f75eeb1e51 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/file.c
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/file.c
@@ -117,7 +117,11 @@ static int ovl_real_fdget_meta(const struct file *file, struct fd *real,
                struct file *f = ovl_open_realfile(file, &realpath);
                if (IS_ERR(f))
                        return PTR_ERR(f);
-               real->word = (unsigned long)ovl_open_realfile(file, &realpath) | FDPUT_FPUT;
+               f = ovl_open_realfile(file, &realpath);
+               if (IS_ERR(f))
+                       return PTR_ERR(f);
+               real->word = (unsigned long)f;
+               real->word |= FDPUT_FPUT;
                return 0;
        }