diff --git a/net/smc/smc_core.c b/net/smc/smc_core.c
index 7c0e4fac9748..59cc99fec2a2 100644
--- a/net/smc/smc_core.c
+++ b/net/smc/smc_core.c
@@ -1616,7 +1616,8 @@ static struct smc_buf_desc *smcd_new_buf_create(struct smc_link_group *lgr,
 		rc = smc_ism_register_dmb(lgr, bufsize, buf_desc);
 		if (rc) {
 			kfree(buf_desc);
-			return (rc == -ENOMEM) ? ERR_PTR(-EAGAIN) : ERR_PTR(rc);
+			return (rc == -ENOMEM) ? ERR_PTR(-EAGAIN) :
+						 ERR_PTR(-EIO);
 		}
 		buf_desc->pages = virt_to_page(buf_desc->cpu_addr);
 		/* CDC header stored in buf. So, pretend it was smaller */