diff --git a/kernel/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup.c
index c66bfc8ee8a7..15eb2273d80b 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup.c
@@ -1051,16 +1051,12 @@ static int rebind_subsystems(struct cgroup_root *dst_root,
 		if (!(ss_mask & (1 << ssid)))
 			continue;
 
-		/* if @ss is on the dummy_root, we can always move it */
-		if (ss->root == &cgrp_dfl_root)
-			continue;
-
-		/* if @ss has non-root cgroups attached to it, can't move */
-		if (!list_empty(&ss->root->cgrp.children))
+		/* if @ss has non-root csses attached to it, can't move */
+		if (css_next_child(NULL, cgroup_css(&ss->root->cgrp, ss)))
 			return -EBUSY;
 
 		/* can't move between two non-dummy roots either */
-		if (dst_root != &cgrp_dfl_root)
+		if (ss->root != &cgrp_dfl_root && dst_root != &cgrp_dfl_root)
 			return -EBUSY;
 	}