diff --git a/include/linux/fsnotify.h b/include/linux/fsnotify.h
index 4da80e92f804..66512a965824 100644
--- a/include/linux/fsnotify.h
+++ b/include/linux/fsnotify.h
@@ -453,6 +453,10 @@ static inline int fsnotify_sb_error(struct super_block *sb, struct inode *inode,
 		.sb = sb,
 	};
 
+	/* fs may be calling this hook from without shutdown */
+	if (unlikely(!(sb->s_flags & SB_ACTIVE)))
+		return 0;
+
 	return fsnotify(FS_ERROR, &report, FSNOTIFY_EVENT_ERROR,
 			NULL, NULL, NULL, 0);
 }