diff --git a/kernel/sched/fair.c b/kernel/sched/fair.c
index 1b23e73f48b0..5beb4e1b480b 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/fair.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/fair.c
@@ -9942,6 +9942,13 @@ struct task_struct *pick_task_fair(struct rq *rq, struct rq_flags *rf)
 	return p;
 
 idle:
+	/*
+	 * Skip newidle balance for remote rqs -- doing so would drop the
+	 * core-wide rq lock, invalidating already-selected core_picks.
+	 */
+	if (rq != this_rq())
+		return NULL;
+
 	new_tasks = sched_balance_newidle(rq, rf);
 	if (new_tasks < 0)
 		return RETRY_TASK;