diff --git a/fs/ext4/xattr.c b/fs/ext4/xattr.c
index ce7253b3f549..b7860b96e8bb 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/xattr.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/xattr.c
@@ -1041,6 +1041,13 @@ static int ext4_xattr_inode_update_ref(handle_t *handle, struct inode *ea_inode,
 		goto out;
 	}
 	ref_count += ref_change;
+	if (overflows_type(ref_count, u64)) {
+		ext4_error_inode(ea_inode, __func__, __LINE__, 0,
+			"EA inode %lu ref overflows: ref_count=%lld ref_change=%d",
+			ea_inode->i_ino, ref_count, ref_change);
+		ret = -EFSCORRUPTED;
+		goto out;
+	}
 	ext4_xattr_inode_set_ref(ea_inode, ref_count);
 
 	if (ref_change > 0) {