diff --git a/drivers/md/faulty.c b/drivers/md/faulty.c
index 268547dbfbd3..f26c1f9a475b 100644
--- a/drivers/md/faulty.c
+++ b/drivers/md/faulty.c
@@ -287,6 +287,8 @@ static int run(mddev_t *mddev)
 	int i;
 
 	conf_t *conf = kmalloc(sizeof(*conf), GFP_KERNEL);
+	if (!conf)
+		return -ENOMEM;
 
 	for (i=0; i<Modes; i++) {
 		atomic_set(&conf->counters[i], 0);