diff --git a/drivers/char/misc.c b/drivers/char/misc.c
index cd650ca8c679..abdafd488980 100644
--- a/drivers/char/misc.c
+++ b/drivers/char/misc.c
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ int misc_deregister(struct miscdevice *misc)
 {
 	int i = DYNAMIC_MINORS - misc->minor - 1;
 
-	if (list_empty(&misc->list))
+	if (WARN_ON(list_empty(&misc->list)))
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	mutex_lock(&misc_mtx);