diff --git a/kernel/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup.c
index 78f6d18ff0af..dd26e1bb7222 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup.c
@@ -5133,6 +5133,8 @@ static struct cgroup_subsys_state *css_create(struct cgroup *cgrp,
 	lockdep_assert_held(&cgroup_mutex);
 
 	css = ss->css_alloc(parent_css);
+	if (!css)
+		css = ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
 	if (IS_ERR(css))
 		return css;