diff --git a/net/sched/em_meta.c b/net/sched/em_meta.c
index 7c3de6ffa516..e5cef9567225 100644
--- a/net/sched/em_meta.c
+++ b/net/sched/em_meta.c
@@ -793,8 +793,10 @@ static int em_meta_change(struct tcf_proto *tp, void *data, int len,
 		goto errout;
 
 	meta = kzalloc(sizeof(*meta), GFP_KERNEL);
-	if (meta == NULL)
+	if (meta == NULL) {
+		err = -ENOMEM;
 		goto errout;
+	}
 
 	memcpy(&meta->lvalue.hdr, &hdr->left, sizeof(hdr->left));
 	memcpy(&meta->rvalue.hdr, &hdr->right, sizeof(hdr->right));